What does transference mean?
Transference means the act or process of moving something from one person, place, or situation to another, but the word often carries a more formal or specialized tone than transfer. It can describe the movement of property, rights, authority, or responsibility, as in a legal or political transference of power. In psychology, transference has a more specific meaning: feelings or attitudes originally directed toward one person are redirected toward someone else, especially when a therapist becomes the object of a client's affection, dependence, distrust, or conflict. The word can also refer to carrying learning or habits from one situation into another. Overall, transference is useful when the transfer itself is being considered as a process, relationship, or psychological event rather than simply as a practical change of possession.
nounThe action or process of transferring something from one person, place, or situation to another. In psychology, transference is the redirection of feelings or attitudes from one person onto another, especially onto a therapist.
- The action or process of transferring possession, rights, responsibilities, power, or something else from one person or entity to another.
- In psychology, the redirection of feelings, attitudes, or expectations from one person onto another, especially a therapist.
- The carrying over of learning, habits, or responses from one situation, task, or context to another.
"The ceremony marked the transference of power to the newly elected leader."
"The ceremony marked the transference of power to the newly elected leader."
"Therapists are trained to recognize when a client's strong feelings toward one person are transferred onto the therapist."
The plural is uncommon; the singular is normally used for the general process or phenomenon.
"The archive records several transferences of property over the century."
In a therapist's office, transference can move the emotional weight of an old relationship onto a new person.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of transference
Transference comes from Latin transferre, meaning “to carry across,” formed from trans-, meaning “across,” and ferre, meaning “to carry.” The related English word transfer comes from the same Latin verb, while translate also reflects its sense of carrying something from one language or place to another. The English noun transference developed within the Latin-derived vocabulary of law, administration, and scholarship before gaining a prominent psychological sense.
How transference is actually used
Transference is more common in formal, legal, academic, and psychological writing than in everyday conversation. In psychotherapy, it usually refers specifically to feelings directed toward a therapist, although the term can also describe broader forms of emotional displacement.
Easily confused with transference
Transfer can name the act or process of moving something, while transference often emphasizes that process as a formal, legal, psychological, or symbolic phenomenon.