Identification with the Aggressor
Identification with the aggressor occurs when a person under sustained threat or abuse begins to take on the qualities, attitudes, or justifications of the person who is harming them. Rather than resisting, the victim starts to adopt the aggressor's perspective, sometimes coming to believe they themselves deserve the mistreatment, or actively defending and excusing the aggressor's behaviour to others.
Illustration
A woman in a long-term abusive relationship tells a concerned friend that her partner's temper is really her own fault for 'not knowing how to keep the peace,' and finds herself, without quite noticing the shift, echoing the exact words he uses to justify his own outbursts.
Related phenomena
Enduring Personality Change after a Catastrophic Experience
References
- Casey, P. & Kelly, B. (2019). Fish's Clinical Psychopathology, 4th ed. Appendix II, 'Defences and Distortions'.