Defense Mechanisms

Question 1

A wealthy woman satisfies her need to feel important and avoids unacceptable feelings of selfishness by donating large amounts of time and money to “worthy” causes.

Answer 1

Altruism (mature)

Question 2

A woman who is getting old and approaching her death puts everyone at ease by making humorous statements about her disabilities.

Answer 2

Humor (mature)

Question 3

A young man shows his little brother how to play baseball, because he feels bad that he has often made fun of him.

Answer 3

Reparation (mature)

Question 4

A young man expresses his unacceptable aggressive impulses by engaging in competitive sports while expressing easy amiability in everyday life.

Answer 4

Sublimation (mature)

Question 5

A middle-aged man in the cardiac intensive care unit maintains a positive attitude toward his prognosis and intentionally avoids thinking about his precarious condition.

Answer 5

Suppression (mature)

Question 6

A young man who is angry at his boss for criticizing him becomes angry with his own son and shouts at the child with little provocation.

Answer 6

Displacement (neurotic)

Question 7

A young man sees his father as good at everything, avoiding the painful awareness that his father let him down many times during his childhood.

Answer 7

Idealization (neurotic)

Question 8

A young woman whose mother has died develops an intense interest in cooking, in identification with an important aspect of her mother.

Answer 8

Introjection (neurotic)

Question 9

A mother becomes an expert in the science behind her daughter’s ADHD while being emotionally distant from her daughter and appearing to have no emotional response to her daughter’s disability.

Answer 9

Isolation of affect (neurotic)

Question 10

An aggressive, competitive young woman perceives others as “having it in for her.”

Answer 10

Projection (neurotic)

Question 11

A young man blames “time constraints at work” for often arriving late to sessions with his therapist, thereby avoiding feelings of anger toward his therapist.

Answer 11

Rationalization (neurotic)

Question 12

A young man expresses extreme homophobia in order to avoid awareness of his own homosexual interests.

Answer 12

Reaction formation (neurotic)

Question 13

A young woman is unaware that she feels sexually interested in her next-door neighbor but is anxious in his presence.

Answer 13

Repression (neurotic)

Question 14

A young man who often makes hostile jokes about colleagues usually follows these interactions by saying “Just kidding!”

Answer 14

Undoing (neurotic)

Question 15

In the face of much evidence to the contrary, a middle-aged man in the cardiac intensive care unit asserts that his health is improving.

Answer 15

Denial/disavowal (primitive)

Question 16

A young woman is outraged by the idea that she might be sexually interested in her best friend’s husband, ignoring the fact of having flirted with him intensely the night before.

Answer 16

Dissociation (primitive)

Question 17

Early in the treatment, a young woman who is afraid of her rage at those in authority sees her current therapist as “perfect,” while recounting stories in which all other therapists whom she knows or has seen are highly flawed.

Answer 17

Primitive idealization (primitive)

Question 18

A young woman who vehemently denies that she is aggressive and intrusive resists her boyfriend’s efforts to discuss emotionally troublesome issues, causing him to lose patience with her and make angry, intrusive efforts to engage her in a discussion of their interaction.

Answer 18

Projective identification (primitive)

Question 19

A young man who does not “want to see” painful truths about his father’s infidelity complains to his doctor about his own “intermittent blurred vision.”

Answer 19

Somatization (primitive)

Question 20

A young woman, who previously had nothing bad to say about her “perfect” therapist, states after a minor disappointment that her therapist is a “heartless person.”

Answer 20

Splitting (primitive)

Question 21

A teenage girl who finds her own interest in boys to be unacceptable works tirelessly to make her best friend more attractive.

Answer 21

Altruistic surrender

Question 22

A young gay man who has been teased by family members for being “too effeminate” treats himself with contempt.

Answer 22

Identification with the aggressor

Question 23

A successful female author is able to evoke the voice of a child in her writing.

Answer 23

Regression in the service of the ego

Question 24

A man who finds his anger at his wife to be unacceptable often blames himself excessively for their altercations.

Answer 24

Turning against the self

Question 25

A middle-aged man who was physically abused by his own father during childhood enjoys a job in which he exercises control over others who work for him but avoids situations in which he feels powerless, as in seeking treatment for illness.

Answer 25

Turning passive into active