mentalize

present singular third person mentalizes · participle present mentalizing · participle past mentalized · past mentalized · alternative mentalise

1. usually passive voiceTo make mental in nature, rather than physical

   It is interesting to observe, furthermore, that among the higher barbarians and civilized races, lust has become to a certain extent mentalized through hereditary memory and association.

   1899, Henry Theophilus Finck, Primitive Love and Love-Stories

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   During this time also life evolved from its inferred beginnings in the late Archean to the complicated, finely developed, and in man's case highly mentalized and spiritualized organization of To-day.

   1919, Robert Sterling Yard, The Book of the National Parks

2. human sciencesTo understand the behavior of others as a product of their mental state

   Specific impairments of mentalizing in both developmental and acquired disorders suggest that this ability depends on a dedicated and circumscribed brain system.

   1999 November 26, Chris D. Frith, Uta Frith, “Interacting Minds--A Biological Basis”, in Science, volume 286, number 5445, →DOI, pages 1692–1695

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   Next Review Interacting Minds--A Biological Basis Chris D. Frith, 1 * Uta Frith 2 The ability to "mentalize," that is to understand and manipulate other people's behavior in terms of their mental states, is a major ingredient in successful social interactions.

   1999 November 26, Chris D. Frith, Uta Frith, “Interacting Minds--A Biological Basis”, in Science, volume 286, number 5445, →DOI, pages 1692–1695