Chapter 12: Defense Mechanisms: p482 Focus QuestionsWhat are defense mechanisms?

Defense mechanisms are the unconscious psychological processes that people develop to relieve anxiety.

What are the most common defense mechanisms?Among questionable forms of coping are the defense mechanism described by Freud. These are unconscious psychological processes, mental of symbolic, developed to relieve anxiety. They include the following:

Most Common Defense Mechanisims

Repression(The Primary Mechanism)

The person tries to banish offending desires from conscious thought to the point of being totally unaware of the original desires. (Keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious)

RationalizationThe person attempts to deal with a stressful situation by claiming that the stressor was of minimal importance and may even have had beneficial effects.(Creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior)

Sublimation The person unconsciously transforms conflict and anxiety into different but related desire that is more acceptable to society and to him/her self.

Identification The person attempts to take on the virtues of an admired person. (Bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with some person or group)

Reaction Formation

The person pretends to possess desires that are the opposite if the desires that are causing conflict and anxiety. (Behaving in a way that is exactly the opposite of one’s true feelings)

Projection The person attributes to others the desires or thoughts that have caused personal conflict. (attributing one’s own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another)

Denial The person attempts to dispel anxiety by refusing altogether to accept reality.

DisplacementSubstitutionSublimination

The person tries to escape the discomfort of unwanted ideas or feelings by transferring them onto another person. (diverting emotional feelings, usually anger, from their original source to a substitute target)

Regression The person retreats toward behaviors that usually characterize a lower level of maturity. ( a reversion to immature patterns of behavior)

IntrojectionIdentifying with some idea or object so deeply that it becomes a part of that person.

One example often used is when a child envelops representational images of his absent parents into himself, simultaneously fusing them with his own personality.

CompensationDirect CompensationOvercompensation

Encountering failure or frustration in some sphere of activity, one overemphasizes another. The term is also applied to the process of over-correcting for a handicap or limitation. Examples: (1) a physically unattractive adolescent becomes an expert dancer. (2) a youth with residual muscle damage from poliomyelitis becomes an athlete. (3) Demosthenes.

Intellectualization

(isolation). Concentrating on the intellectual components of the situations as to distance oneself from the anxiety provoking emotions associated with these situations.

Intellectualization is a defense mechanism where reasoning is used to block confrontation with an unconscious conflict and its associated emotional stress. It involves removing one's self, emotionally, from a stressful event. Intellectualization is often accomplished through rationalization; rather than accepting reality, one may explain it away to remove one's self.

Fixation Fixation in human psychology refers to the state where an individual becomes obsessed with an attachment to another human, animal or inanimate object

Crazy Joe’s Psych 101 Notes II Prof. T.R. Tharney: PSY101 Chapter 12: pp. 1

Common Defense Mechanisms (12 of 25)

Repression: (The Primary Mechanism):The person tries to banish offending desires from conscious thought to the point of being totally unaware of the original desires. (Keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious)Ex. A traumatized soldier has no recollection of the details of a close brush with death.

Rationalization: The person attempts to deal with a stressful situation by claiming that the stressor was of minimal importance and may even have had beneficial effects.(Creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior) Ex. a student who cheats on an exam may rationalize the action with the claim that everybody cheats, which makes cheating easier to accept.

Sublimation: The person unconsciously transforms conflict and anxiety into different but related desire that is more acceptable to society and to him/her self.

Identification: The person attempts to take on the virtues of an admired person. (Bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with some person or group) Ex. An insecure young man joins a fraternity to boost his self-esteem.

Reaction Formation: The person pretends to possess desires that are the opposite if the desires that are causing conflict and anxiety. (Behaving in a way that is exactly the opposite of one’s true feelings) Ex. A parent who unconsciously resents a child spoils the child with outlandish gifts.

Projection: The person attributes to others the desires or thoughts that have caused personal conflict. (attributing one’s own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another)Ex. A person who does not want to recognize his/her inadequate tennis skills blames all bad shots on a flawed racquet.

Denial: The person attempts to dispel anxiety by refusing altogether to accept reality.

Displacement (Substitution and Sublimination): The person tries to escape the discomfort of unwanted ideas or feelings by transferring them onto another person. (diverting emotional feelings, usually anger, from their original source to a substitute target) Ex. After failing a important exam, a student takes her anger out on her little brother.

Regression: The person retreats toward behaviors that usually characterize a lower level of maturity. ( a reversion to immature patterns of behavior) Ex. An adult has a temper tantrum when he doesn’t get his way.

Introjection: Identifying with some idea or object so deeply that it becomes a part of that person. One example often used is when a child envelops representational images of his absent parents into himself, simultaneously fusing them with his own personality.

Compensation (Direct Compensation,

Overcompensation): Encountering failure or frustration in some sphere of activity, one overemphasizes another. The term is also applied to the process of over-correcting for a handicap or limitation. Examples: (1) a physically unattractive adolescent becomes an expert dancer. (2) a youth with residual muscle damage from poliomyelitis becomes an athlete. (3) Demosthenes.

Intellectualization :( isolation). Concentrating on the intellectual components of the situations as to distance oneself from the anxiety provoking emotions associated with these situations.

Intellectualization is a defense mechanism where reasoning is used to block confrontation with an unconscious conflict and its associated emotional stress. It involves removing one's self, emotionally, from a stressful event. Intellectualization is often accomplished through rationalization; rather than accepting reality, one may explain it away to remove one's self.

Fixation: in human psychology refers to the state where an individual becomes obsessed with an attachment to another human, animal or inanimate object.

Crazy Joe’s Psych 101 Notes II Prof. T.R. Tharney: PSY101 Chapter 12: pp. 2

Defense Mechanisms: Study Questions1) Correct Greg learns that he has cancer. He

begins to learn everything he can about the illness, reading books, journal articles, and the latest experimental research. Greg's response to his diagnosis is what type of defense mechanism?

a) Intellectualization

b) Regression

c) Sublimation

d) Repression

2) Correct Bill's friends and family believe that he has a drinking problem. When Bill is confronted by his loved ones, he claims that his drinking is not problematic. What type of defense mechanism is Bill's response?

a) Repression

b) Rationalization

c) Denial

d) Displacement

3) Correct Which defense mechanism did Freud believe to be a sign of maturity?

a) Repression

b) Displacement

c) Sublimation

d) Regression

4) Correct Mary has an argument with her boss, but remains calm while at work. When she gets home that evening, she yells at her spouse and children. Which defense mechanism is Mary displaying?

a) Rationalization

b) Denial

c) Reaction Formation

d) Displacement

5) Correct Jessica dislikes public speaking. She stops going to school, changes jobs, and declines most social engagements to ensure that she does not have to speak in public. Jessica's behavior is an example of which defense mechanism?

a) Denial

b) Avoidance

c) Sublimation

d) Passive-aggression

6) Wrong Jerry's dream is to be a professional basketball player. When he realizes that he is unable to fulfill his dream, he instead becomes a high school basketball coach.

Jerry's experience is an example of which type of defense mechanism?

a) Acting out

b) Avoidance

c) Compensation

d) Aim inhibition

7) Wrong Jess often experiences intense feelings of anger and frustration. In order to cope with these feeling, he enrolls in a kickboxing class as an outlet for his emotions. Jess's actions are an example of which type of defense mechanism?

a) Sublimation

b) Projection

c) Displacement

d) Repression

8) Wrong who described ten different defense mechanisms used by the ego to defend against anxiety?

a) Carl Rogers

b) Sigmund Freud

c) Erik Erikson

d) Anna Freud

9) Wrong Clare complains about her job duties at work, rarely completes assigned tasks, and is regularly late for work. When she is fired, she claims it was due to her co-worker badmouthing her instead of blaming it on her own poor work performance. Which defense mechanism explains Clare's reaction?

a) Displacement

b) Denial

c) Rationalization

d) Sublimation

10) Correct while out on her morning jog, Linda encounters a growling dog. Linda fears that the dog may try to bite her. According to Freud, this type of anxiety is:

a) Moral Anxiety

b) Reality Anxiety

c) Neurotic Anxiety

d) Libidinal Anxiety