11622 Defense Mechanism

8/2/2019 11622 Defense Mechanism

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Defense Mechanism


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Defense Mechanisms/Mental Mechanisms

These are intra psychic devices that serve as the first

line of ego protection and defense. These are specific psychological maneuvers existing

primarily outside of and beyond consciousawareness.

They may be described as stereotyped, repetitive,and rigid means of adaptation, healthy or unhealthy


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Defense Mechanisms are used to:

To minimize anxiety

To protect the ego

To maintain repression Repression is useful to the individual to:

Prevent discomfort


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Denial

Failing or refusing to acknowledge something

bad about ourselves

The unconscious refusal to face thoughts,feelings, wishes, needs, or reality that are

intolerable. Blocking the awareness of reality

by refusing to acknowledge its existence.

Eg: denying that your physician's diagnosis of

cancer is correct and seeking a second opinion


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Repression

Repression: inability to recall painful orunpleasant thoughts or feelings because they areautomatically and involuntarily pushed into ones

unconsciousness. Referred to as burying alivemechanism

The involuntary exclusion of a painful orconflictual thought, impulse or memory from

awareness This is the primary ego defense mechanism-

others reinforce it


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Rationalization

It is used to unconsciously justify ideas,

actions, or feelings with good, acceptable

reasons or explanation. It is also to maintain

self-respect, prevent guilt feelings, and obtain

social approval or acceptance. Referred to as

self-deception


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Rationalization

Offering a socially acceptable yet less logical

explanation for an act or decision actually

produced by unconscious impulses

Example: man buys a new car having

convinced himself his old car wont make it

through the winter

A woman with a closet full of dresses buys a

new one because she has nothing to wear


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Regression

returning to a previous stage of development

Regression: retreating to past levels of behaviorthat reduce anxiety, allow one to feel more

comfortable, and permit dependency. Amechanism through which an individual retreatsto an earlier stage of life and subjectively morecomfortable level of adjustment.

Eg: sitting in a corner and crying after hearing badnews; throwing a temper tantrum when youdon't get your way


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Projection

Attributing ones thoughts or impulses to anotherperson-- this allows expression of a desire orimpulse (making something unacceptable nowacceptable) but confuses the ego allowing for a

reduction of anxiety Example: blaming another person for self failure You have a strong dislike for someone so you tell

other people that they do not like you

Projection: scapegoat defense mechanismThe person may blame others for faults, feelings,or shortcomings that are unacceptable to self.


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Displacement: a mechanism that serves to

transfer feelings such as frustration, hostility,

or anxiety from one idea, person, or object to

another. The substitute target is less

threatening and allows the person to release

emotional reaction.


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Displacement

Transferring frustration to less threatening people or

objects.

A change in the object by which an instinctual drive

is to be satisfied; shifting the emotional componentfrom one object or idea to another

Example: a woman is abandoned by her fianc; she

quickly finds another man to take his place

A salesman is angered by his supervisor and laterwhen returning home punishes his children for

misbehavior would usually be tolerated or ignored


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Sublimation: the rechanneling of consciouslyintolerable or socially unacceptable impulsesor behavior into activities that are not

personally or socially acceptable. e.g. acollege student who has hostile feelingsrechannels them by joining the debate team


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Sublimation

Redirecting energy from basic drives to moreacceptable behaviors.

To reduce the force of an instinctual drive by using

the energy in other, usually constructive activities

For Example: a woman who is forced to take on avery restrictive diet takes up still life painting that

usually include food A teenager who has just broken up with his girlfriend

has published poems that deal with heartbreak


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Suppression: willfully or voluntarily putting an

acceptable thought or feeling out of ones mind

with the ability to recall the thought or feeling at

will. A deliberate, intentional exclusion from theconscious mind, can be referred as voluntary

forgetting.

Eg: trying to forget something that causes youanxiety


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Compensation: the act of making up for a real or

imagined inability or deficiency with a specifiedbehavior to maintain self-respect of self-esteem. The

person overcomes an inability by becoming

proficient in another area.

Reaction-formation/Overcompensation: The personexaggerates or overdevelops certain actions by

displaying exactly the opposite behavior, attitude or

feeling from what he or she normally would show in

a given situation.

Example- a man who dislikes his mother-in-law may act

very politely and courteously toward her.


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Intellectualization: the act of transferringemotional concerns into the intellectual sphere.The person uses intelligent reasoning as a meansof avoiding confrontation with unconsciousconflicts and their stressful emotions.

Eg: focusing on the details of a funeral asopposed to the sadness and grief


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Substitution: the unconscious act of replacing

a goal when it is blocked.

The replacement of consciously unacceptable

emotions, drives, attitudes, or needs by those

that are more acceptable.

Example-a student nurse in a degree program

who feels unable to master the clinical

competence decided to become a respiratorytechnician.


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Undoing/Restitution: the negation of a previous

consciously intolerable action or experience to

reduce or alleviate feelings of guilt.

Example- a man sends flowers to his girlfriend

after he embarrassed her at a cocktail party.

Symbolization: an object, idea, or act represents

another through some common aspect and

carries the emotional feeling associated with theother.


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Introjection: attributing to oneself the good

qualities of another, symbolically taking on thecharacter trait of another person byingesting the philosophy, ideas, knowledge,custom, mores, or attitudes of that person.

Conversion: the transferring of a mentalconflict into physical symptoms to release

tension or anxiety.e.g. a man develops paralysis of his lowerextremities after he learns that his wife has aterminal cancer.


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Fantasy: imagined events or mental images(

daydreaming) to express unconscious

conflicts, gratify unconscious wishes, or

prepare for anticipated events.

e.g. a young woman on a popular televisionsoap opera, fantasized she had a child, as she

sat in a rocking chair, held a baby doll, and

sang lullabies. Isolation: the process of separating an

unacceptable feeling, idea, or impulse from

ones thoughts ( also known as Mental


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11622 Defense Mechanism