By Miss Queen. Defense mechanisms protect us from being consciously aware of a thought or feeling...

by Miss Queen

Defense mechanismsprotect us from being consciously aware of a

thought or feeling which we cannot tolerate. The defense only allows the unconscious

thought or feeling to be expressed indirectly in a disguised form.

Let's say you are angry with a professor because he is very critical of you. Here's how the various defenses might hide and/or transform that anger:

Denial:You completely reject the thought or feeling.

"I'm not angry with him!"

Suppression:You are vaguely aware of the thought or

feeling, but try to hide it.

"I'm going to try to be nice to him."

Reaction Formation: You turn the feeling into its opposite.

Projection:You think someone else has your thought or

feeling.

"That professor hates me.""That student hates the professor."

DisplacementYou redirect your feelings to another target..

"I hate that secretary."

RationalizationRationalization: You come up with various

explanations to justify the situation (while denying your feelings).

"He's so critical because he's trying to help us do our best.“

Intellectualization: A type of rationalization, only more intellectualized.

"This situation reminds me of how Nietzsche said that anger is ontological despair.“

UndoingUndoing: You try to reverse or undo your

feeling by DOING something that indicates the opposite feeling. It may be an "apology" for the feeling you find unacceptable within yourself."I think I'll give that professor an apple

Isolation effect"Isolation of affect: You "think" the feeling

but don't really feel it.

"I guess I'm angry with him, sort of."

RegressionRegression: You revert to an old, usually

immature behavior to ventilate your feeling.

"Let's shoot spitballs at people!"

ConclusionDefenses may hide any of a variety of

thoughts or feelings: anger, fear, sadness, depression, greed, envy, competitiveness, love, passion, admiration, criticalness, dependency, selfishness, grandiosity, helplessness.

ActivityYour Group's Role play: In your small group,

develop a role play that you can perform in front of the class.

In it demonstrate several defense mechanisms. Try to give everyone in the group a part to play.

Good role plays usually spend a minute or so to develop the scene, the characters, and the situation at hand. At that point start to introduce the defenses into the scene. The whole role play should last about 3-5 minutes.

After you finish the scene, the class will try to guess which defense mechanisms you were demonstrating.

SublimationSublimation: You redirect the feeling into a

socially productive activity.

ParanoidParanoid: suspicious, argumentative,

paranoid, continually on the lookout for trickery and abuse, jealous, tendency to blame others, cold and humorless

"I'm going to write a poem about anger."

Schizoidhas few friends; a "loner"; indifferent to

praise and criticism of others; unable to form close relationships; no warm or tender feelings for other people

Sociopath:

breaks rules and laws; takes advantage of other people for personal gain; feels little remorse or guilt; appears friendly and charming on the surface; often intelligent

Schizotypal: also aloof and indifferent like the schizoid;

magical thinking; superstitious beliefs; uses unusual words and has peculiar ideas; a very mild form of schizophrenia

Borderline:very unstable relationships; erratic

emotions; self- damaging behavior; impulsive; unpredictable aggressive and sexual behavior; monophobia; easily angered

Histrionic:overly dramatic; attention seekers; easily

angered; seductive; dependent on others; vain, shallow, and manipulative; displays intense, but often false emotions

Narcissistic:grandiose; crave admiration of others;

extremely self-centered; feel they are privileged and special; expects favors from others; emotions are not erratic

Compulsive:perfectionists; preoccupied with details,

rules, schedules; more concerned about work than pleasure; serious and formal; cannot express tender feelings

Passive-Aggressive:indirectly expresses anger by being

forgetful and stubborn; procrastinates; cannot admit to feeling angry; habitually late

Try It Use the worksheet: Personality DisordersMatch up the following disorders with

the descriptions of the party:

William=schizotypal, Sherry=borderline, Winston=narcissistic, Peter=compulsive, Doreen=paranoid, Margie=passive-aggressive, Harold=schizoidDonna=hystrionic,