Chapter 5: Defense Mechanisms Flashcards
Describe the id.
The id controls primitive instincts and drives
Describe the superego. What stage in life does it develop?
determines our conscience or moral compass (what we ought to do)
Begins at 5
Describe what the ego is.
Ego attempts to accommodate reality.
rational
resolves conflicts between id and superego
What is the one defense mechanism that is conscious?
suppression
What are examples of narcissistic defenses?
- projection
- denial
- splitting
What is projection?
when a person attributes his own wishes, desires, thoughts emotions to someone else
(Ex: cheating spouse accuses partner of cheating)
What is the main defense mechanism seen in paranoid personality disorder?
projection
What is denial? (Also give an example.)
not allowing reality to penetrate to avoid acknowledgment of a painful aspect of reality
(ex. after surviving a heart attack a patient insists on continuing his lifestyle as if nothing had happened))
What is splitting?
when people and things in the world are idealized (all good) or devalued (all bad)
What is the main defense mechanisms seen in BPD?
splitting
passive aggression
What is blocking?
temporary, or transient block in thinking or an inability to remember (often accompanies an embarrassing situation)
(ex. student unable to recall the fact needed to answer the exam question, although he recalls it as he walks out of the exam)
Example of immature defense mechanisms.
blocking
regression
somatization
introjection (identification)
What is regression?
returning to an earlier stage of development you have already completed (unconscious childish behavior in an adult)
What is somatization?
when psychological conflict is converted into bodily symptoms
(i.e. a student gets a headache while taking an exam)
What is introjection?
when we acquire characteristics of others as our own. The unconscious form of imitation
Which defense mechanism is used in psychotherapy?
introjection
What are some anxiety defense mechanisms? (Name 4)
- displacement
- repression
- isolation of affect
- intellectualization
- acting out
- rationalization
- reaction formation
- undoing
- passive aggression
- dissociation
What are some mature defense mechanisms?
- humor
- sublimation
- suppression
Describe displacement.
target of an emotion or drive changes to a substitute target
(i.e. a recently disciplined employee yells at his wife instead of his boss)
Describe repression.
when an idea or feeling is withheld from consciousness. It is also called unconscious forgetting
What is one of the most basic defense mechanisms?
repression
Describe isolation of affect? (Also give an example.)
separation of an idea or event from the emotions (affect) that accompany it
(i.e a child who has been beaten discusses the beatings without any display of emotion
What is an important adaptive defense mechanism for self-preservation?
isolation of affect
What is intellectualization?
when facts and logic are used to avoid confronting emotions
(i.e. a patient with a bone protruding from his leg focuses on the physics that allow such an event to occur)
Describe acting out?
when an emotional or behavioral outburst masks underlying feelings or ideas
(i.e. a child throws temper tantrum when abandoned)
Describe rationalization. (Also give example)
when rational explanations are used to justify attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors that are unacceptable
(i.e A murderer saying “yes, I believe killing is wrong but I killed him because he really deserved it)
What type of defense mechanism is seen in substance use disorders?
rationalization
What is reaction formation? (Also give an example)
when an unacceptable impulse is transformed into its opposite. Excessive overreaction can be a sign of reaction formation.
(i.e a teenage boy intrigued by “dirty pictures” organizes an anti-pornography campaign)
What is undoing?
performing an act to undo a previous unacceptable act or thought
(i.e a man who is sexually aroused by a woman he meets immediately leaves and buys his wife flowers)
Which defense mechanism is seen in OCD?
both reaction formation and undoing
Reaction formation can be seen in what type of disorders?
OCD and anxiety disorder
What is passive aggression?
when hostility is expressed covertly (must be unconscious)
(Patient angry with her physician shows up late for appointments)
What is dissociation? (Also give an example.)
separates the self from one’s experience to avoid emotional distress
(i.e. A woman who was raped reports that she felt “as if she was floating on the ceiling” watching it happen)
What is the primary mode of defense in dissociative disorders?
dissociation
Describe using humor as a defense mechanism? (Also give an example.)
permits the overt expression of feelings and thoughts without personal discomfort
(i.e. a student smiles when he realizes that a particularly intimidating professor looks like a penguin)
What is sublimation?
when impulse gratification is achieved by channeling the unacceptable or unattainable impulse into a socially acceptable direction
(i.e Jack the Ripper becomes a surgeon)
What is considered to be the most mature defense mechanism?
sublimation
What is suppression?
conscious decision to forget or ignore
(i.e. a student with a pending exam decided to forget about it and go out for the evening)
