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Identification, in essence, is the process by which the ego psychically incorporates certain characteristics of outside objects— characteristics which it considers as helpful and strengthening in the pursuit of its goals.
In regard to this process we may observe a wide range of possibilities between two extremes. On the one hand, in cases in which hardly any ego structure exists identification may consist in an almost complete “merging”, in a lack of differentiation between the self and the identity of the object, in a feeling of “being” the object of identification which may lead to a random incorporation of whatever characteristics this object seems to possess. On the other hand, in cases where already a strong sense of ego-identity has developed, this “merging” may occur only in particular areas or under particular circumstances, and identification becomes a highly selective process by which only very specific characteristics are taken over and integrated into the existing character pattern.
Between these two extremes—in cases, for instance, in which the ego boundaries are yet in flux—a certain fluidity in ego feeling, a certain “traveling back and forth” between the self and the ego of the object may take place. Thus, a little boy identifying with the train conductor may—while maintaining his own ego identity—temporarily feel that he is the conductor and that it is he who runs the train. Similarly, an actor characterizing a certain role may temporarily merge with the object of his characterization, while yet being able to “snap back” into his own ego feeling.*
This process has been described in the literature as a “transient identification.” 1 In view of the fact that the transiency denotes the