Defense Mechanisms Flashcards
Words or behavior designed to negate/make amends symbolically for unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or actions (something we’re embarrassed about)
Undoing
Intentionally avoiding thinking about disturbing problems, wishes, feelings, or experiences; suppressing emotions to focus on one thing
Suppression
Channeling potentially maladaptive feelings or impulses into socially acceptable behavior; learn to release maladaptive impulses/emotions in a socially acceptable way
Sublimation
Compartmentalizing opposite affect states and failing to integrate the positive and negative qualities of the self or others into cohesive images; compartmentalize things fueled by anxiety
Splitting
Expelling disturbing wishes, thoughts, or experiences from conscious awareness (the feeling component may remain conscious, detached from its associated ideas)
Repression
Substituting behavior, thoughts, or feelings that are diametrically opposed to one’s own unacceptable thoughts or feelings (this usually occurs in conjunction with their repression)
Reaction Formation
Concealing the true motivations for one’s own thoughts, actions, or feelings through the elaboration of reassuring or self-serving but incorrect explanations; people justify what they do wrong and blame others
Rationalization
Indirectly and unassertively expressing aggression toward others. There is a facade of overt compliance masking covert resistance, resentment, or hostility; not being real or assertive
Passive Agressive
Separation of ideas from the feelings originally associated with them
Isolation (of affect)
Attributing exaggerated positive qualities to others; putting someone on a pedestal, thinking they’re perfect, which sets the relationship up for failure
Idealization
Emphasizing the amusing or ironic aspects of the conflict or stressor
Humor
Experiencing a breakdown in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, perception of self or the environment, or sensory and motor behavior
Dissociation
Falsely attributing to another one’s own unacceptable feelings, impulses, or thoughts
Projection
Attributing exaggerated negative qualities to self or others; embarrassed by their outcome, individual attributes negative quality to themselves or others
Devaluation
Transferring a feeling about, or a response to, one object onto another (usually less threatening) substitute object; person yelled at by authority but they take it out on other(s)
Displacement
Using actions rather than reflections or feelings during periods of emotional conflict; lashing out due to emotions
Acting Out
Dedicating life to meeting the needs of others (receives gratification either vicariously or from the response of others); this behavior is not healthy if own trauma/behavior is not dealt with
Altruism
Excessive daydreaming as a substitute for human relationships, more effective action, or problem-solving; excessive daydreaming to escape reality
Autistic Fantasy
Refusing to acknowledge some painful aspect of external reality or subjective experience that would be apparent to others; this behavior will affect daily life
Denial
Example: A teenager gets mad at his parents and begins staying out late at night.
Acting out
Example: After being rejected by her boyfriend, a young girl joins the Peace Corps.
Altruism
Example: A young man sits in his room all day and dreams about being a rock star instead of attending a baseball game with a friend.
Autistic Fantasy
Example: A teenager’s best friend moves away, but the adolescent says he does not feel sad.
Denial
Ex: A boy has been rejected by his long-time girlfriend. He tells his friends that he realizes that she is stupid and ugly.
Devaluation
Example: A child is mad at her mother for leaving for the day but says she is really mad at the sitter for serving her food she does not like.
Displacement
Example: A client is angry at his physician, does not express it, but becomes verbally abusive with the nurse.
Displacement
Example: An adult relates severe sexual abuse experienced as a child but does it without feeling. She says that the experience was as if she were outside her body watching the abuse.
Dissociation
Example: Sue’s nurse manager has been professional in his relationships with Sue and the other nurses. Sue feels a strong sexual attraction to him and tells another nurse, “He’s coming on to me!”
Projection
Example: Joe is nervous about his new nursing job and yells at his girlfriend. On his way home from the hospital he stops and buys her some flowers and himself a new video game.
Undoing
Example: A man has sexual fantasies about his wife’s sister. He takes his wife away for a romantic weekend.
Undoing
Example: John is on the inpatient unit and approaches the day nurse and says, “I’m so glad you are here; the night nurse is a terrible nurse. Last night he wouldn’t even call my doctor to get me more pain medication.”
Splitting
Example: One friend is wonderful and another former friend, who was at one time viewed as being perfect, is now believed to be an evil person.
Splitting
Example: A person makes a joke right after experiencing an embarrassing situation.
Humor
Example: An adult falls in love and fails to see the negative qualities in the other person.
Idealization
Example: A new nurse is very thankful for his mentor helping him adjust to his new job. The mentor has been encouraging and gone out of his way to answer questions and help the new nurse feel comfortable. The mentor makes a medication error in front of the new nurse and does not report the error. The new nurse recognizes that everyone makes mistakes and since it did not harm the patient, is not concerned about the mentor’s behavior.
Idealization
Example: The individual loses touch with the feelings associated with a rape while remaining aware of the details.
Isolation (of affect)
Example: One employee doesn’t like another, so he secretly steals her milk from the office refrigerator. She is unaware of his hostile feelings.
Passive aggression
Example: A child is very angry at a parent but accuses the parent of being angry.
Projection
Example: A mother whose son is killed by a drunk driver channels her anger and energy into becoming the president of the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.
Sublimation
Example: A man is rejected by his girlfriend but explains to his friends that her leaving was best because she was beneath him socially and would not be liked by his family.
Rationalization
Example: A wife finds out about her husband’s extramarital affairs and tells her friends that she thinks his affairs are perfectly appropriate. She truly does not feel, on a conscious level, any anger or hurt.
Reaction Formation
Example: A woman does not remember the experience of being raped in the basement but does feel anxious when going into that house.
Repression
Example: An adolescent boy is very angry with his parents. On the football field, he tackles someone very forcefully.
Sublimation
Example: A student is anxiously awaiting test results but goes to a movie to stop thinking about it.
Suppression
Example: Sally, a nursing student, has worked hard to make a good grade on her nursing exam. She fails the exam but tells her classmate, “The instructor wrote a terrible test and it doesn’t matter if I fail out of school”.
Devaluation
Example: A married nurse is attracted to the physician that she works with at the hospital. At a recent hospital meeting, she is very rude to the physician.
Reaction Formation
