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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences pp 1–5Cite as

Transference

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Synonyms

Attachment; Countertransference; Psychoanalysis; Representations of self and others; Transference-focused psychotherapy

Definition

A tendency in which represented aspects of important and formative relationships (e.g., with parents) are attributed to other people. This process of transference can be conscious but is typically unconscious (Levy and Scala 2012). Originally conceived by Sigmund Freud, transference is believed to be a central component in the therapeutic relationship between therapist and patient, and although there may be real aspects in the relationship, transference represents a distortion or cognitive-affective bias. In psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapies, the tracking and/or analysis of the transference is believed to be important in the treatment. Within any interaction, there are individual differences in transference in terms of the degree, extent, rigidity, and awareness of transference. Transference can be reality based in that it is based on...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Kenneth N. Levy & J. Wesley Scala

Authors
  1. Kenneth N. Levy
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  2. J. Wesley Scala
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kenneth N. Levy .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

    Bradley A. Green

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Levy, K.N., Scala, J. (2017). Transference. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_957-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_957-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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