fei75766_ch05_149-178.indd 158  02/06/20 11:22 AM
Part II    Psychodynamic Theories158
Introjected objects arenotaccurate representations oftherealobjects butare
colored bychildren’s fantasies. Forexample, infants willfantasize thattheirmother is
constantly present; thatis,theyfeelthattheirmother isalways inside theirbody. The
realmother, ofcourse, isnotperpetually present, butinfants nevertheless devour her
infantasy sothatshebecomes aconstant internal object.
Projection
Justasinfants useintrojection totakeinbothgood andbadobjects, theyuseprojec -
tiontogetridofthem. Projection isthefantasy thatone’s ownfeelings andimpulses 
actually reside inanother person andnotwithin one’s body. Byprojecting unman -
ageable destructive impulses ontoexternal objects, infants alleviate theunbearable 
anxiety ofbeing destroyed bydangerous internal forces (Klein, 1935).
Children project bothbadandgood images ontoexternal objects, especially 
theirparents. Forexample, ayoung boywhodesires tocastrate hisfather mayinstead 
project these castration fantasies ontohisfather, thusturning hiscastration wishes 
around andblaming hisfather forwanting tocastrate him.Similarly, ayoung girl
might fantasize devouring hermother butprojects thatfantasy ontohermother, who
shefears willretaliate bypersecuting her.
People canalsoproject good impulses. Forexample, infants whofeelgood about 
theirmother’s nurturing breast willattribute theirownfeelings ofgoodness ontothe
breast andimagine thatthebreast isgood. Adults sometimes project theirownfeelings 
ofloveontoanother person andbecome convinced thattheother person loves them. 
Projection thusallows people tobelieve thattheirownsubjective opinions aretrue.
Splitting
Infants canonlymanage thegood andbadaspects ofthemselves andofexternal 
objects bysplitting them, thatis,bykeeping apart incompatible impulses. Inorder 
toseparate badandgood objects, theegomust itself besplit. Thus, infants develop a
picture ofboththe“good me”andthe“badme”thatenables them todealwithboth
pleasurable anddestructive impulses toward external objects.
Splitting canhaveeither apositive oranegative effect onthechild. Ifitisnot
extreme andrigid, itcanbeapositive anduseful mechanism notonlyforinfants but
alsoforadults. Itenables people toseebothpositive andnegative aspects ofthem -
selves, toevaluate theirbehavior asgood orbad,andtodifferentiate between likable 
andunlikable acquaintances. Ontheother hand, excessive andinflexible splitting 
canleadtopathological repression. Forinstance, ifchildren’s egosaretoorigidtobe
splitintogood meandbadme,thentheycannot introject badexperiences intothe
good ego.When children cannot accept theirownbadbehavior, theymust thendeal
withdestructive andterrifying impulses intheonlywaytheycan—by repressing them.
Projective Identification
Afourth means ofreducing anxiety isprojective identification, apsychic defense 
mechanism inwhich infants splitoffunacceptable parts ofthemselves, project them 
intoanother object, andfinally introject them backintothemselves inachanged or
distorted form. Bytaking theobject backintothemselves, infants feelthattheyhaveFinal PDF to printer