Externalization is a term used in psychoanalytic theory which describes the tendency to project one's internal states onto the outside world.
In Freudian psychology, externalization (or externalisation) is a defense mechanism by which an individual projects their own internal characteristics onto the outside world, particularly onto other people.
Like other defense mechanisms, externalization can be a protection against anxiety and is, therefore, part of a healthy, normally functioning mind.
[2] Problems with self-regulation, including impulsivity, violence, sensation-seeking, and rule-breaking, are indicative of an externalizing risk pathway.
Often, issues within the externalizing risk pathway, namely vulnerabilities in self-regulation, may impact the development of alcohol use disorder differently across stages of the addiction cycle.