Defense Mechanisms

Rationalization

is a defense process by which plausible reasons justify an action or opinion.

● helps the person cope with disappointments by blaming external circumstances.

● A person is using ____ when, after not getting a job he applied for, he thinks, "I'll be better off at a different company."

● A person is using ____ when, after getting turned down for a date, says, "I'm better off without them. That person is really snobby anyway."

● An abused spouse may rationalize hitting their children as 'punishment' after being hit by their spouse.

Repression

● refuses to let unacceptable impulses into conscious awareness.

● A person using ___ might feel sexually attracted toward members of the same sex, but pushes away this intolerable thought from consciousness only to later dream

about such sexual impulses.

● A person is using ___ when, after years of celibacy, the person begins to eat

copious amounts of food; they are not even letting their unacceptable impulses (in this case, sexual feelings) come into existence and they do so by using food to repress these feelings/desires.

● A young boy exhibits ___ when he has a phobia of dogs but cannot remember the event that occurred that caused him to first be afraid of them.

- like forgetting something bad

Denial

● distorts/refuses to accept reality (acting like whatever happened never happened).

● acting like something didn't happen.

▪ If someone was in a car accident and their child died, repression would look like

them forgetting this ever happened.

▪ would look like them acting as though they are still alive. It's not that they've

repressed/forgotten it happened-its that they can't even accept it has occurred.

● is uncommon in very young children because they are unable to distinguish

between fantasy and reality.

● A person is using ____ when he continues to eat unhealthy foods despite his doctor's

orders to eat healthier.

● An alcoholic is in ___ when she attends a recovery program but continues to drink

alcohol.

Projection

● places unacceptable feelings from the person feeling them onto another person.

● is a two-way street: there's Person A, who has the feeling about Person B, and instead of expressing that feeling, they accuse Person B of having that feeling instead.

● A person is ____ when they are angry at their spouse, but instead of expressing that anger, they accuse their spouse of being angry at them.

● An anxious colleague is ____ when complaining about a coworker's anxieties.

● A person is using ____ when he complains that no one likes him, but in reality he

does not like himself or others.

● A person has gained weight, but instead of acknowledging this, they tell their friend it

looks like they (the friend) has gained weight.

Displacement

● is a defense mechanism in which affect is transferred from one object to another.

● Unlike projection, ___ typically has 3 parties/situations involved: so there's person A, who has the feeling about Person/Situation B, but doesn't feel they can express it directly, so instead they take it out on Person C.

● A man is using ___ when he is upset at his spouse, but instead of expressing it to the spouse, he takes it out on his kids and yells at them.

● A person uses ___ by compulsively eating lollipops after they quit smoking.

● A person is using ___ when she begins to compulsively wash her hands after

being shamed for masturbating.

Projection Identification

● takes projection a step further, with the person who has been projected onto believing the projection.

● So if we look at the final example of projection (a person has gained weight, but instead of acknowledging this, they tell their friend it looks like they-the friend-has gained weight.

▪ This becomes ____if the friend begins believing they've gained weight, despite not having gained weight. They may go on to behave in way that aligs with the projection either because of their own insecurities or because the person projecting has controlled the situation in such a way to make them believe it. (So for the example above, the person may begin eating more and actually end up gaining weight).

● Another example is a supervisor who is insecure about their supervisory skills because they don't feel they are doing an adequate job as a supervisor. They accuse their supervisees of doing inadequate work (if it stopped here, it would just be projection). This becomes ____f the supervisees begin to feel insecure in their own work, and may even go on to do less adequate work than before the projection.

Inteelectualization

● is a process by which content is separated from repressed affect.

● A person uses ___ when speaking of his traumatic childhood as if reading

a scripted story.

● A victim of sexual assault may use ___ by researching factual PTSD

criteria instead of addressing her emotional pain in therapy.

Asceticism

● is characterized by rigor and self-denial.

● An adult uses ____ when she refuses to eat or sleep until a major work project is

complete.

● An adolescent uses ____ to cope with sexual tension and desire by refusing to

engage in all pleasurable activities.

Sublimation

● A person using ____ will displace unacceptable instincts for constructive and socially acceptable behaviors.

● A person with major depression may use professional dance to help ______ suicidal thoughts.

● A person with aggressive impulses becomes a kickboxing instructor.

Introjection/Internalization

● is the ____ of outside events or characteristics of other people.

● A victim may use ____ to identify with the aggressor's behaviors to help protect

themself.

● A person uses ____ when putting on their seat belt before driving away in their car

because they have internalized the voice of previous authority figures who have told

them to buckle their seatbelt while in the car.

● A person may internalize the concept that "boys don't cry" -- this is an idea that a person

might take in from their environment. They aren't necessarily identifying with the person who said/thought it, but they take it in and it becomes part of how they see the world. Over time, this might lead to identification (see below) with the individual who said/thought it.

Identification

● is a process by which qualities of an external object are absorbed into one's personality.

● You want to think about introjection/internalization and identification as being very similar and on a continuum - introjection/internalization can lead to ___ over time.

▪ Because they are so similar/connected, there is almost no chance of the test wanting you to be able to discriminate between the two. It's more likely that you'll have one of them as an answer choice with 3 others that aren't so similar, or that the question will use the term and you'll have to choose an answer that reflects the closest definition.

● A Bruce Lee fan uses ___ when becoming a disciplined martial art champion.

● A young person is using ___ when deciding to follow in their father's footsteps and becomes a lawyer.

Reaction Formation

● is a process by which unacceptable impulses are expressed as their opposites.

● helps release anxiety and guilt associated with the true impulse.

● A supervisee who despises their supervisor uses ____when being overly

nice to their supervisor.

● A parent with an unwanted child may demonstrate ___by being very

overprotective of that child or being overly loving.

● A man who is gay uses ____ when he openly dates women and criticizes gay men.

Undoing

● is a process by which we avoid being punished for undesirable thoughts or actions. We 'undo' a threatening thought, feeling, or behavior by engaging in a contrary behavior. Unlike reaction formation where they are trying to hide their true feelings, with undoing they are actually trying to ___ a thought, feeling, or behavior they have already had (like a person being overly nice to a person she had just insulted in her mind).

● A spouse unconsciously ____ his many adulterous acts by buying his partner lavish gifts.

● A person is overly nice to a person she just insulted in her mind.