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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