APA Dictionary of Psychology

in the psychoanalytic theory of Melanie Klein, an introjected part-object perceived as having negative qualities (see introjection). It is an early object representation that derives from splitting of the object into parts containing negative qualities (i.e., the bad object) and positive qualities (i.e., the good object). The creation of the bad object is understood as a means of managing internal anxiety over destructive impulses arising from frustration. The ego projects these impulses into an object and therefore often feels it to be an external threat or persecutor.