New Ideas in Psychology

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Projection means that we imagine that our own virtues and vices and attitudes are embodied in other people. We see in other people what is in ourself. This psychological stratagem is particularly noticeable with regard to our vices. We try to escape from our faults by denying them ; we see them only as aspects of other people – it is always other people that are the source of conflict.

Introjection is the complementary process. We emulate the virtues (and vices) in the people that we admire. We incorporate into ourself the attitudes of people that are significant to us. Our own idealised image of ourself can also act as a source for introjection : we can use such an image as an object from which we can introject virtues that we need. It is through introjection that a child absorbs the values of the parents.

How do projection and introjection actually work? First of all, the way that I separate them is that projection centres primarily on desire and introjection primarily on emotion. Then the way that I put them back together forms them into a loop, that is, the two mechanisms can be thought of as meshing together and forming a loop, or circle, in the way that they function.

The loop ties together desire with emotion. This is achieved through the mind. The interaction of will and mind generates desire, and the interaction of feeling and mind produces emotion.

Projection and introjection form a loop of desire and emotion. As an example, a simple desire-emotion loop occurs when I satisfy my desire for food by eating something that gives me pleasure. I project desire onto food that I prefer, and then introject the good feelings either from the appearance of the food or from memories of past meals. Here introjection functions as suggestion. This loop is a simple one because it can be completed as soon as the desire arises.

Forming the Loop

In order to establish the connection between projection and introjection I need to present a couple of ideas. In the early period of my self-analysis I had been given, in a dream communication, the idea that faith acts through belief. And in another communication I was given the idea that faith drives the will.

There are two factors that need to be separated :
that which concerns the control of the will, and that which concerns how the will is used.

In order to formulate the loop, I conceived of two half-circles, arranged around these two factors that affect the will. Each half-circle is a route between will and feeling.

Note. The view that I teach is that mind is not the same as consciousness.
Consciousness = mind + will + feeling

The route of using the will.
In this half-circle, desire is the primary feature. The will is used to interact with mind and so stimulate desire ; this desire has as its aim the generation of an acceptable emotional response. The emotion has its base in feeling.
Desire and emotion link together through their common component of mind. Hence this route is from will to feeling. On the diagramme below, it is the route on the right-hand side.

The sequence is : Will to Mind, and then Mind to Feeling.

Mind links desire to emotion. Therefore the sequence becomes :

Will to [desire to emotion] to Feeling.

The route of controlling the will.
In this half-circle, belief is the primary feature. The two ideas needed are that faith drives the will, and that faith acts through belief. Feeling is directed, via its interaction with the mind, into beliefs that are of psychological or existential importance to the person. Such beliefs become emotive ones. Unless it has a base in feeling, a belief has no lasting value to the person. Faith is almost the most powerful underpinning that can be given to a belief (only the need to survive can be more powerful) ; when this underpinning occurs, the belief becomes a very potent factor of consciousness. Faith can be viewed as the primary basis of emotive beliefs ; in other words, all such beliefs have a component of faith. Such beliefs become the way to control the will. This route is from feeling to will. On the diagramme below, it is the route on the left-hand side.

The sequence is : Feeling to Mind, and then Mind to Will.

Mind contains beliefs powered by faith. Therefore the sequence becomes :

Feeling to [faith to beliefs] to Will.

Putting these two half circles together we get the basic form of the mechanism of projection and introjection.

Primary Loop of Projection and Introjection

These notes are taken from the article Projection & Introjection, on my websites The Strange World of Emotion and Discover Your Mind.

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Copyright © 2002 Ian Heath
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