DEFENSE MECHANISMS Flashcards
Conscious exclusion of unacceptable thoughts and feelings from conscious awareness
Ex. when asked about the experience they don’t
want to talk about it
Suppression
Excluding emotionally painful or anxiety-provoking thoughts and feelings from conscious awareness
Ex: Adolescent, victim of rape, when she was
asked about it she can’t recall about it
Repression
Dealing with emotional conflict by a temporary alteration in
consciousness or identity
Ex: They have amnesia, change in behavior,
change in personality because of trauma
DiSSOCIATION
Separation of emotions of a painful event or situation from
the facts involved; acknowledging the facts not the
emotions
Ex: a person suffer traumatic car accident, when
asked by the police about the incident that just has
happen but this person casually telling the
information without emotions involved at all
INTELLECTUALIZATION
Moving back to a previous developmental stage to feel safe
or have needs met
Ex: used to being the only child but because of a
new sibling, attention is no longer in yours so you
show behaviors where you no longer feel secure
before (thumb sucking, bed wetting) so your
parents have your attention on you.
REGRESSION
Immobilization of a portion of the personality resulting
from unsuccessful completion of tasks in a developmental
stage
Ex: excessive vices, cigarette smoking, alcohol,
vulgar words
FIXATION
Modeling action and opinions of influential others while
searching for identity or aspiring to reach personal, social,
or occupational goals.
Ex: when you are with your CI you are really
looking up to his/her, you wanted to be like
him/her
IDENTIFICATION
Accepting another person’s attitudes, beliefs, and values as
one’s own
Ex: When you are the first born of the siblings, in
the absence of the parents, you act as the
custodian/ parent
INTROJECTION
Ventilation of intense feelings toward persons less
threatening than the one who aroused those feelings
Ex: bad day at work or in school, get home, you are
releasing your feelings at other persons at home
(siblings).
DISPLACEMENT
Unconscious blaming of unacceptable inclinations or
thoughts on an external object
Ex: you have asked the permission of your parents
to go out with your friends but you promised to be
home at 12 midnight, when you’re already out you
didn’t want to go home yet and went home at 3am.
Your parents were waiting for you so when they
asked, you blamed your friends for not driving you
home earlier.
PROJECTION
Exhibiting acceptable behavior to make up or negate
unacceptable behavior
Ex: scolded by parents, she cooked your favorite
meal
UNDOING
Acting the opposite of what one thinks or feels
Ex: An adolescent is still establishing his identity,
wherein he may not be good in school works, but
he is good in other activities
REACTION FORMATION
Overachievement in one area to offset real or perceived
deficiencies in another area
Ex: a father who hit his son suddenly had a
paralysis on the arm; Someone who witnessed a
crime can no longer see anything (conversion
blindness)
COMPENSATION
Expression of an emotional conflict through the
development of a physical symptom usually sensorimotor
Ex: desire to have a child of their own, they care
for the child of other couple
CONVERSION
Replacing the desired gratification with one that is more
readily available
Ex: desire to have a child of their own, they care
for the child of other couple
SUBSTITUTION
