Identification with the Aggressor

Identification with the Aggressor (German: Identifizierung mit dem Angreifer) is one of the forms of identification conceptualized by psychoanalysis. Specifically, it is a defence mechanism that designates the assumption of the role of the aggressor and their functional attributes or the imitation of their aggressive and behavioral mode, when a psychological trauma poses the hopeless dilemma of being a victim or an abuser. This theoretical construct is also defined as a process of coping with mental distress or as a particular case of zero-sum game.

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