Defense Mechanisms Flashcards
Denial
Not accepting reality because it is too painful.
Example: you are arrested for drunk driving several times but don’t believe you have a problem with alcohol.
Regression
Reverting to an older, less mature way of handling stresses and feelings.
Example: you and your roommate have get into an argument so you stomp off into another room and pout
Projection
Attributing your own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone or something else
Example: you get really mad at your husband but scream that he’s the one mad at you
Repression
Burying a painful feeling or thought from awareness though it may resurface in symbolic form. Sometimes considered a basis of other defense mechanisms.
Example: you can’t remember your fathers funeral.
Splitting
Everything in the world is seen as all good or all bad with nothing in between.
Example: you think your best friend is absolutely worthless because he forgot a lunch date with you
Isolation of affect
Attempting to avoid a painful thought or feeling by objectifying and emotionally detaching oneself from the feeling
Example: acting aloof and indifferent toward someone when you really dislike that person
Displacement
Channeling a feeling or thought from its actual source to something or someone else
Example: when you get mad at your sister, you break your drinking glass by throwing it against the wall
Reaction formation
Adopting beliefs, attitudes, and feelings contrary to what you really believe
Example: when you say you are not angry but you really are
Rationalization
Justifying ones behaviors and motivations by substituting “good”, acceptable reasons for these real motivations
Example: I always study hard for tests and I know a lot of people who cheat so it’s not a big deal I cheated this time
Altruism
Handling your own pain by helping others
Example: after your wife dies, you keep yourself busy by volunteering at you church
Humor
Focusing on funny aspects of a painful situation
Example: a persons treatment for cancer makes him lose his hair so he makes jokes about being bald.
Sublimation
Redirecting unacceptable, instinctual drives into personally and socially acceptable channels
Example: intense rage redirected in the form of participation in sports such as boxing or football
Suppression
The effort to hide and control unacceptable thoughts or feelings
Example: you are attracted to someone but say that you really don’t like the person at all
Undoing
Trying to reverse or “undo” a thought or feeling by performing an action that signifies an opposite feeling than your original thought or feeling
Example: you have feelings of dislike for someone so you buy them a gift
