Defense Mechanisms Flashcards
What is Denial?
The refusal to accept the reality of unfortunate circumstances.
What is projection?
Is when someone attributes their own thoughts, feelings, or impulses to another person.
What is Rationalization?
Involves coming up with logical sounding explanations to justify thoughts and feelings that might otherwise be unacceptable.
What is Regression?
When someone reverts to an earlier stage of behavior/development in response to anxiety.
What is displacement?
Involves redirecting your emotions, impulses, desires from their original source, toward a less threatening target.
What is sublimation?
sublimation occurs when someone channels unacceptable urges and impulses into pursuits like becoming boxer to channel the aggression.
What is intellectualization?
Involves distancing oneself from negative emotions by focusing excessively on abstract thoughts or concepts.
What is compensation?
Involves an individual making up for perceived weakness in one area of their life by excelling in another.
What is Reaction Formation?
Involves expressing the opposite of one’s feelings as a way to cope to anxiety.
What is suppression?
Involves consciously pushing unwanted thoughts and feelings out of awareness.
What is avoidance?
Involves a person avoiding situations, people, or thoughts that trigger unpleasant emotions or memories.
What is Humor?
Involves using laughter or comedy to cope with stress, anxiety, or difficult situations.
What is Fantasy?
Involves escaping reality by imagining idealized scenarios or outcomes.
What is selective attention?
Involves only focusing on certain aspects while ignoring others, especially those that are distressing or threatening.
What is Disassociation?
Involves a disruption in consciousness, memory, identity, or perception of the environment as response to overwhelming stress or trauma.
What is Identification?
Involves an individual adopting the traits, behaviors, characteristics of someone they find powerful and successful.
What is idealization?
Involves viewing oneself or others in an excessively positive light in order to cope with feelings of inadequacy.
What is compromise?
Involves finding a middle ground for conflicting thoughts, feelings, desires, through compromise.
What is Altruism?
Is a defense mechanism where individuals cope with stress and anxiety by helping others instead of themselves.
What is Undoing?
Involves an individual trying to negate or reverse unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and actions by engaging in contrary behavior.
What is Repression?
Involves pushing painful memories, thoughts, feelings away from your conscious mind and into your unconscious mind.
What is Spiritualization?
Involves individuals that cope with existential or emotional distress by seeking out solace in religious or spiritual beliefs.
