Identification Revisited

The author’s aims in this paper are twofold. The first aim is to consider the psychoanalytic concept of identification. What kind of concept or group of concepts is this; in which respects is it radical in reconfiguring psychological theory; and how far might we separate notions of receptive and projective identification? The author’s second aim is to pursue the implications for understanding human development and psychopathology. The author illustrates how relatively neglected forms of identification play pivotal roles at different levels of communicative functioning, as well as shape seemingly disparate domains of early development—a story that is both informed by, and may inform, current psychoanalytic theory.