Defense Mechanisms Flashcards
Repression
Forgetting the details of a really bad car accident
Denial
A child who is told her parents are divorcing may deny it is happening and deny that she is upset about it
Suppression
Fears can be replaced by thinking of a happy place, time or event
Projection
An a dry person believes others are angry at him or her; a person who is critical of others believes they are critical of him or her
Displacement
Displacement involves taking out your frustrations, feelings and impulses on people or objects that are less threatening.
Reaction Formation
An example of reaction formation would be threatening someone you strongly dislike in an excessively friendly manner in order to hide your true feelings.
Regression
When confronted by stressful events, people sometimes abandon coping strategies and revert to patterns of behavior used earlier in development.
Fixation
People with an oral fixation have problems with drinking, smoking, and nail biting when they are experiencing stressful events.
Identification
Taking on characteristics of someone important- parent, sports celebrity, etc.
Rationalization
If a person says “I don’t care if I wasn’t chosen for the team; I don’t like soccer anyways”
Isolation
Reading about the grieving process after a parents death
Sublimation
Channeling aggressive tendencies into playing contact sports
Compensation
A young person becomes physically disabled and compensates by working hard academically and becomes a doctor
