verb
- to unconsciously incorporate external ideas, attitudes, or standards into one’s own psyche
Usage: psychology
Examples
- Children often introject their parents’ values and beliefs.
- The patient had introjected harsh criticism from childhood.
- She introjected society’s expectations about success.
- Therapy helped him recognize what he had introjected versus his own authentic feelings.
- The adolescent introjected peer group attitudes about appearance.
- He struggled to separate what he had introjected from his genuine desires.