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.