35: Projective Identification

Projective identification considers the effect of projection on the recipient, rather than the person who is doing the projection. It is suggested the projector sends unconscious signals that cue others to adopt the roles or attitudes he is projecting upon them.

The author's examples include a person who feels sexually inadequate and whose behavior makes his partner feel sexually inadequate, or a patient who feels helpless who makes his doctor feel incompetent to treat his condition.

It is generally a part of the bonding process for one person to experience the emotions that another is expressing - they are not empathizing on a conscious level, but are receiving nonverbal cues. But in this instance the projector is unaware of their emotional state and likewise unaware that he is cueing others to adopt it.

(EN: All of this seems vague and specious, so I did a little more research and found that the concept doesn't have much scientific support - it's just a theory, which seems a bit more plausible when the emotion isn't identical. A person who is angry with someone but is attempting to conceal or suppress their anger may still be sending nonverbal signals to which the other person reacts by feeling anxiety. That seems to make more sense than the "mirroring" theory, particularly in casual relationships.)