<P> In psychoanalytic theory, when an individual is unable to integrate difficult feelings, specific defenses are mobilized to overcome what the individual perceives as an unbearable situation . The defense that helps in this process is called splitting . Splitting is the tendency to view events or people as either all bad or all good . When viewing people as all good, the individual is said to be using the defense mechanism idealization: a mental mechanism in which the person attributes exaggeratedly positive qualities to the self or others . When viewing people as all bad, the individual employs devaluation: attributing exaggeratedly negative qualities to the self or others . </P> <P> In child development, idealization and devaluation are quite normal . During the childhood development stage, individuals become capable of perceiving others as complex structures, containing both good and bad components . If the development stage is interrupted (by early childhood trauma, for example), these defense mechanisms may persist into adulthood . </P>

How do the cycles of idealization and devaluation work