chapter 3 Flashcards
Denial
Unconscious refusal to admit an unacceptable idea or behavior.
ex: Mr. Davis, who is alcohol-dependent, believes that he can control his drinking if he so desires.
Repression
Unconscious and involuntary forgetting of painful ideas, events, and conflicts.
ex: Ms. Young, a victim of incest, no longer remembers the reason she always hated the uncle who molested her.
Suppression
Conscious exclusion from awareness anxiety-producing feelings, ideas, and situations
ex: Ms. Ames states to the nurse that she is not ready to talk about her recent divorce.
Rationalization
Conscious or unconscious attempts to make or prove that one’s feelings or behaviors are justifiable
ex: Mr. Jones, diagnosed with schizophrenia, states that he cannot go to work because his co-workers are mean, instead of admitting that his illness interferes with working.
Intellectualization
Consciously or unconsciously using only logical explanations without feelings or an affective component
ex: Ms. Mann talks about her son’s death from cancer as being merciful and shows no signs of her sadness and anger.
Dissociation
The unconscious separation of painful feelings and emotions from an unacceptable idea, situation, or object
ex: Ms. Adams recalls that when she was sexually molested as a child, she felt as if she were outside of her body watching what was happening without feeling anything.
Identification
Conscious or unconscious attempt to model oneself after a respected person
ex: Ms. Kelly states to the nurse, “When I get out of the hospital, I want to be a nurse just like you.”
Introjection
Unconsciously incorporating values and attitudes of others as if they were your own
ex: Without realizing it, Mr. Chad wishes, talks, and acts similarly to his therapist, analyzing other patients.
compensation
Consciously covering up for a weakness by overemphasizing or making up a desirable trait
ex: Mr. Hahn, who is depressed and unable to share his feelings with other patients, writes and becomes known for his expressive poetry.
sublimation
Consciously or unconsciously channeling instinctual drives into acceptable activities
ex: Mr. Smith, a former perpetrator of incest who fears relapse, forms a local chapter of Sex Addicts Anonymous.
Reaction formation
A conscious behavior that is the exact opposite of an unconscious feeling
ex: Ms. Wren, who unconsciously wishes her mother were dead, continuously tells staff that her mother is wonderful.
Undoing
Consciously doing something to counteract or make up for a transgression or wrongdoing
ex: After accidentally eating another patient’s cookies, Ms. Donnelly apologizes to the patients, cleans the refrigerator, and labels everyone’s snack with their names.
Displacement
Unconsciously discharging pent-up feelings to a less threatening object
ex: A husband comes home after a bad day at work and yells at his wife
projection
Unconsciously (or consciously) blaming someone else for one’s difficulties or placing one’s unethical desires on someone else
ex: An adolescent comes home late from a dance and states that her date would not bring her home on time.
conversion
The unconscious expression of intrapsychic conflict symbolically through physical symptoms
ex: A student awakens with a migraine headache the morning of a final examination and feels too ill to take the test. She does not realize that 2 hours of cramming left her unprepared.
Regression
Unconscious return to an earlier and more comfortable developmental level
ex: A 6-year-old child has been wetting the bed at night since the birth of his baby sister
