Identification

To internalize is to put something inside of borders where it did not originally belong. In sociology to internalize is to learn something (such as ideas or skills) and make use of it from then on.

Religious conversion is one example of this process.

Internalization is the opposite of externalization.

In Freudian psychology, internalization is one of the concepts of the psychological process introjection, a psychological defense mechanism. Cognate concepts are identification and incorporation.

For development 'Internalization' is the long-term process of identifying one’s own beliefs, attitudes, and values, when it comes to moral behavior. Accomplishment of this task can be done using either psychoanalytical or behavioral methods.

When changing moral behavior, one is said to be "internalized" when a new set of beliefs, attitudes, and values, replace or habituates the desired behavior.

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