Defense mechanisms Flashcards
Denial
Person refuses to acknowledge the existence of an external source of anxiety
Repression
Person avoids anxiety by not allowing painful or dangerous thoughts enter the concuousn
Fantasy
Person imagines events as means of satisfying unacceptable anxiety producing desires that would otherwise go unfulfilled
Projection
Person attributes own unacceptable implulses/motives/desires toward other people
Rationalization
Person creates a socially acceptable reason for an action that actually reflects unacceptable motives
Reaction formation
Person adopts behavior that is the exact opposite of impulses that they are afraid to acknowledge
Displacement
Person displaces hostility away from a dangerous object onto a safer substitute
Intellectualization (isolation)
Person represses emotional reactions in favour of a overly logical response to a problem
Undoing
Person tries to make up for unacceptable desires or acts, frequently through ritualistic behaviour
Regression
Person retreats from a upsetting conflict to a early developmental stage (which no one is expected to behave maturely or responsibly )
Overcompensation
Person tries to cover up a personal weakness by focusing on another more desirable trait
Sublimation
Person expresses sexual and aggressive energy in ways that are acceptable to society
