The process of internalization is a continuum from perception to imitation, and then to taking over a characteristic of an object in an ego identification. The

more developed the process of internalization, the more intimately blended is that characteristic as part of the ego. Early identifications leave their imprint in later superego formation. They form around the limitations and restrictions of behavior developed in the interaction between mother and child. Internalization is more apt to occur if the mother image is experienced as good; projection, if it is felt as bad. The way in which the superego facilitates or interferes with the ego's adaptation and formation of the ego ideal is discussed.