Splitting

Splitting is the unconscious process of separating parts of the self or others into distinct, often opposing representations. In early development, positive and negative feelings, wishes, and experiences may be kept apart because they are difficult to reconcile. As a result, people, relationships, or aspects of the self may be experienced as all good or all bad, rather than as complex mixtures of strengths and weaknesses. These split-off aspects can later be projected onto others, who come to embody qualities the individual cannot yet recognize or tolerate within themselves. In object relations theory, developed by Melanie Klein and later expanded by Otto Kernberg, splitting is considered both a normal developmental process and a defense mechanism that can contribute to psychological difficulties when positive and negative experiences are not successfully integrated.