mentalize

Verb

mentalize (third-person singular simple present mentalizes, present participle mentalizing, simple past and past participle mentalized)

1. (usually passive voice) To 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
   • 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. To 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
   • 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