common defense mechanisms

Question 1

apathy

Answer 1

lack of interest; indifference, feeling, concern or emotion

Question 2

compensation

Answer 2

method of balancing a failure or inadequacy with an accomplishment

Question 3

conversion

Answer 3

transformation of an anxiety into a physical symptom that has no cause

Question 4

denial

Answer 4

avoidance of unpleasant or anxiety provoking situations or ideas by rejecting them or ignoring their existence

Question 5

displacement

Answer 5

redirection of emotions away from its original subject or object onto another less threatening subject or object

Question 6

dissociation

Answer 6

disconnection of emotional importance from ideas or events and compartmentalizing those emotions in difference parts of awareness

Question 7

identification

Answer 7

attribution of characteristics of someone else to oneself or the imitation of another

Question 8

intellectualization

Answer 8

analysis of a situation with facts and emotions

Question 9

introjection

Answer 9

adoption of the thoughts and feelings of others

Question 10

physical avoidance

Answer 10

keeping away from any person, place, or object that evokes memories of something unpleasant

Question 11

projection

Answer 11

the transference of a person’s unpleasant ideas and emotions onto someone or something else

Question 12

rationalization

Answer 12

an explanation that makes something negative or unacceptable seem justifiable or acceptable

Question 13

reaction formation

Answer 13

belief in and expression of the opposite of one’s true feelings

Question 14

regression

Answer 14

the reversion to an earlier, more childlike, developmental behavior

Question 15

repression

Answer 15

the elimination of unpleasant emotions,
desires, or problems from the conscious mind

Question 16

sarcasm

Answer 16

use of words that have the opposite meaning, especially to be funny , insulting, or irritating

Question 17

sublimation

Answer 17

re channeling unacceptable urges or drives into something constructive or acceptable

Question 18

suppression

Answer 18

voluntary blocking of a unpleasant experience from one’s awareness

Question 19

undoing

Answer 19

cancelling out an acceptable behavior with a symbolic gesture

Question 20

verbal aggression

Answer 20

verbal attack on a person without addressing the original intent of the conversion