Introjection, Mentalization, Ego Functioning, and Lacan’s “Name of the Father”

Psychoanalytic literature has traditionally focused on the theoretical explanations of psychological phenomena rather than empirical research to support those ideas. One such theory is Lacan’s “Name of the Father” (NOF), which recast Freud’s Oedipal situation, positing its representation in language use and situating it even earlier in psychological development. Lacan suggested that the NOF construct (establishing psychological structure and preventing psychosis) was best represented by metaphor use and linguistic structure. The current study attempted to measure the NOF construct (1955) through linguistic structure and metaphor use. We examined the relationship between an indirect measure of NOF functioning and overall personality functioning via Freud’s concept of the “original introject” and mentalization capacity in a double-mediational model. In a sample of 50 young adults, we hypothesized that linguistic indicators of Lacan’s Name of the Father construct would predict stronger paternal introjection, which in turn would predict higher mentalization capacity. We further predicted that mentalization capacity would lead to healthier and more integrated personality functioning. Results indicated that NOF was identified by verbal immediacy elicited via metaphor. Additionally, NOF predicted ego impairment measured by the Rorschach and certainty in mentalization. Implications for future research and clinical interventions are discussed.