mentalization

Mentalization is the capacity to understand behavior—one's own or others'—in terms of underlying mental states like thoughts, feelings, desires, and intentions.

The concept comes from psychoanalytic theory and developmental psychology, where it describes how we make sense of human action by inferring what's going on in someone's mind: Her ability to mentalize helped her recognize that his anger masked fear.

Strong mentalization skills are linked to emotional regulation and healthy relationships; impaired mentalization is associated with certain personality disorders.