6a. General Terms - Primitive Defense Mechanisms Flashcards
Denial
refusal to accept reality or fact, acting as if a painful event, thought or event did not exist. Some theories holds that people suffering from paranoid personality disorder deny their own unacceptable thoughts or feelings and project these on others.
Regression
the reversion to an earlier stage of development.
Acting out
performing an extreme behavior in order to express thoughts or feelings the person is incapable of otherwise expressing. Defensive acting out is not synonymous with “bad behavior” because it requires evidence that the behavior is related to emotional conflicts.
Dissociation
when a person loses track of time or a person, and instead finds another representation of themselves to continue with the moment.
Compartmentalizing
a lesser form of dissociation, whereas part of oneself is separated from awareness of other parts and behaving as if one had a separate set of values.
Projection
The misattribution of a person’s undesired thoughts, feelings or impulses onto another person who does not have those thoughts, feelings, or impulses.
Reaction formation
converting of unwanted or dangerous thoughts, feelings or impulses into their opposite. For example, a woman who is very unhappy with her boss & job will become overly kind & generous and may express a desire to stay at the job forever. Reaction formation occurs when unacceptable thoughts or impulses are expressed by their opposites. It is an immature defense and usually causes problems for the individual since the underlying aggression is never addressed.
Repression
the unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts, feelings or impulses. The key to repression is that people do it unconsciously.
Suppression
Involves voluntary setting aside of affect and memory, which can also be voluntarily retrieved. Sometimes we do this consciously by forcing the unwanted information out of our awareness, which is known as suppression. In most cases, however, this removal of anxiety-provoking memories from our awareness is believed to occur unconsciously. Dealing with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by intentionally avoiding thinking about disturbing problems, wishes, feelings or experiences.
Displacement
is the redirecting of thoughts, feelings, or and impulses directed at one person or object, but taking it out on another person or object.
Intellectualizing
the overemphasis on thinking when confronted with an unacceptable impulse, situation or behavior without employing any emotions whatsoever to help mediate and place the thoughts into an emotional, human context. Rather than deal with the pain associated with the emotions, a person might employ intellectualism, to distance themselves from the impulse.
Rationalization
putting something into a different light or offering a different explanation for one’s perceptions or behaviors in the face of a changing reality. For instance, a woman who starts dating a man she really, really likes and thinks the world of is suddenly dumped by the man for no reason. She reframes the situation in her mind with, “I suspected he was a loser all along.”
Undoing
the attempt to take back an unconscious behavior or thought that is unacceptable or hurtful. For instance, after realizing you just insulted your significant other unintentionally, you might spend the next hour praising their beauty, charm and intellect. By “undoing” the previous action, the person is attempting to counteract the damage done by the original comment, hoping the two will balance one another out. Undoing is a secondary defense mechanism that surfaces when unacceptable or frightening thoughts or actions break free into consciousness. Undoing is performed to reverse the consequences that flow from the action.
Conversion
Conversion involves changing the affect into another symptom, such as a physical disorder or problem.
Sublimination
the channeling of unacceptable impulses, thoughts and emotions into more acceptable ones. For instance, when a person has sexual impulses they would like not to act upon, they may instead focus on rigorous exercise. Refocusing such unacceptable or harmful impulses into productive use helps a person channel energy that otherwise would be lost or used in a manner that might cause the person more anxiety.