Download - Individual Differences in Defense Mechanisms
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Individual Differences in Defense Mechanisms
• Freud concerned with DMs at level of human nature
• Later researchers examined individual differences– E.g.,. Which defenses one tends to use– Developmental changes in defense
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Individual Differences in Degree of Defensiveness
• Repressor – Sensitizor Concept
• Definition:– Repressor: Avoid conscious experience of
anxiety– Sensitizor: Approach conscious experience of
anxiety
• Variability in normal personality styles
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Measurement of RS
• Original RS scale ambiguous in terms of whether or not low anxiety was a result of psychological defenses
• Later scheme used two measures together:– Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS)– Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale
(MCSD)
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Measurement of RS
• TMAS – measure of dispositional anxiety– Low = High =
• MCSD - measure of social desirability or defensiveness; tendency to present overly positive image to self (self-deception) and others (impression management). E.g., I never get mad– Low = High =
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Measurement of RS
TMAS MCSD
•Repressor Low High
•Low Anxious Low Low
•Defensive Anx.High High
•Sensitizor High Low
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Validity of RS measurement
• I. Self-reported anxiety– Classify Ps as repressors/sensitizors– Put in threatening situation– Assess anxiety– Problems?
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Validity of RS measurement
• II. Self-reported anxiety and physiological responses– Classify Ps as repressors/sensitizors– Put in threatening situation– Assess anxiety and monitor GSR– Self-report/GSR dissociation
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Validity of RS measurement
• III. Childhood memories– Classify Ps as repressors/sensitizors– Ask Ps to recall childhood memories– Prediction– Findings– Mechanisms: Encoding and retrieval effort
(alpha waves for Rs)
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Repressors Vs. Sensitizors
•Health Implications
•Advantages/disadvantages of different styles
•Adaptability of defense mechanisms
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Research on Unconscious
• Two questions:
– Unconscious content (can we demonstrate existence of unconscious content?)
– Unconscious process (can we be affected by stimuli not consciously perceived?)
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Unconscious Content
• Unconscious = material available but not accessible
– Hypermnesia - recall previously inaccessible material
• Clinical; recovered memories
– Problem; paramnesia (false memory)
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Unconscious Content
• Hypermnesia– Lab; Erdelyi
• Present stimuli (words, pictures)• Exhaustive recall tx 1• Free associate• Exhaustive recall tx 2• Results tx2 > tx1 (false memory controlled)
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Unconscious Content
• Dissociation - nonunitary consciousness (no awareness of material but external evidence for material)– Clinical:
• DID
• Emotion awareness
–Problem: report bias
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Unconscious Content
• Dissociation - Lab research
– Hypnosis (Hilgard)
• Suggestion: No experience of pain
• Immerse hand cold water–No pain reported but automatic
writing suggests pain
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Unconscious Content
• Dissociation - Lab research– Implicit/Explicit memory divergence
• Explicit memory - conscious, deliberate recall
• Implicit memory - material affects task performance
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Implicit-Explicit Memory Experiment
• Demonstrate implicit but no explicit memory
• Present Words Explicit test Implicit test» Hair 0
HA_ _
» Bear BE_ _
• Antegrade amnesiacs• Normal participants (with delay)
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Unconscious Content
• Implicit Stereotypes• An implicit stereotype is a stereotype that is
powerful enough to operate without conscious control.
• The more closely associated two concepts are, the easier it is to respond to them as a single unit. So, if young and good are strongly associated, it should be easier to respond faster when you are asked to give the same response
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Unconscious Processes
• Perceptions– Semantic Priming
• Prime Target Lexical Decisions• Doctor Nail Faster for related
• Doctor Nurse* target/prime pairs
• Hammer Nail* Related concepts
• Hammer Nurse activated
– Masked primes (not perceived) yield same effect
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Unconscious Processes
• Perceptions– Social Priming
• Person perception (inherent ambiguity)• Activated (primed) constructs affect
perceptions• Occurs without awareness
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Unconscious Processes• Perceptions
– Social Priming Experiment (Higgins, Srull)
– Study 1 (prime hostility)• Sentence completion: hit cat the his
• 80% (primed hostile) vs. 20%)
– Study 2 (person perception)• ambiguous description (e.g., refuse to donate)
– Primed hostile perceive target more negatively• no awareness; can prime subliminally
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Unconscious Processes
• Affective reactions– Zajonc. Mere exposure effect: Familiarity
produces liking• Present stimuli left ear
• Shadow prose right ear
• Prefer exposed stimuli but no recognition
• Occurs with other stimuli (e.g., geometric shapes)
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Unconscious Processes
• Affective reactions– Silverman. Psychopathology. Explicit test of
psychoanalytic model– Model:
• Unconscious activate wish > Defense mechanisms > Related pathology if defenses inadequate
– Subliminal presentation of aggressive stimuli increase levels of depressed for clinically depressed
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Unconscious Processes
Related Issue: What is the quality of unconscious thought?
Is it superior to conscious thought?
Although controversial, some research (Dijksterhuis) suggests unconscious decisions are better
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Unconscious vs. Conscious Thought
• What is conscious thought?– Thinking about something while consciously
attending to it
• What is unconscious thought?– Thinking about something while not attending
to it• Associating, reasoning, weighing, evaluating while
consciously thinking about something else
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Dijksterhuis (2006)
• Participants receive information about 4 apartments
• Each apartment is described by 12 aspects (Apt. A is big, Apt. C is in a nice area).
• Information for each apartment is presented for 15 secs.• Three apartments have 5 positive and 7 negative aspects.• One is better: 8 positive and 4 negative.• Participants choose an apartment• 1. Immediately• 2. After thinking about it for three minutes• 3. After being distracted for three minutes
(unconscious thought)
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Percentage Choosing Best Apartment
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
condition
immediate
conscious
unconscious
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Unconscious Thought
• Always better?– Complex rather than simple– Processing not acquiring (input assumed to be
acquired)– Some failures to replicate