Psychoanalysis
In
Freudian psychology, externalization (
or externalisation) is a
defense mechanism
In psychoanalytic theory, a defence mechanism (American English: defense mechanism), is an unconscious psychological operation that functions to protect a person from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and o ...
by which an individual
projects
A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal.
An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...
their own internal characteristics onto the outside world, particularly onto other people. For example, a patient who is overly argumentative might instead perceive others as argumentative and themselves as
blameless
Blameless could refer to:
*Blameless (band)
Blameless were a rock quartet formed in Sheffield, England in 1993/94. They reached the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart in 1996 with the song "Breathe (A Little Deeper)".
The band consisted of sin ...
.
Like other defense mechanisms, externalization is a protection against
anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
and is, therefore, part of a healthy, normally functioning mind. However, if taken to excess, it can lead to the development of a
neurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...
.
Narrative therapy
Michael White states that the problem of the client is externalized, to alter the client's
point of view
Point of view or Points of View may refer to:
Concept and technique
* Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or thinks of something
* Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the prono ...
.
See also
*
Internalization
Internalization ( or internalisation) is the process of making something internal, with more specific meanings in various fields. It is the opposite of externalization.
Psychology and sociology
In psychology, internalization is the outcome of ...
Notes
References
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Defence mechanisms
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