Defense Mechanisms Flashcards
Struggling to admit the truth to ourselves instead we use self-justifying explanations in place of real, more threatening unconscious reasons for ones actions.
The story we tell ourselves that doesn’t seem so bad.
Can’t afford car insurance and rides his bike to work telling his co leads that he rides his bike to work for the exercise.
After getting turned down for a date, she says that person is really snobby.
Rationalization
A person forgets about unrousing thoughts or memories burying them in the unconscious. Most frequently occurs in a traumatic event.
Having a phobia of dogs but cannot remember the first tine he was afraid of them.
A war veteran forgetting about his traumatic experience in the war.
Repression
Shift unacceptable impulses toward more acceptable impulses.
compulsively eats lollipops after quit smoking.
A boy was upset with his father and kicked his dog.
Displacement
A process by which qualities of an external object are absorbed into ones personality.
A young boy is deciding to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a lawyer.
Identification
When a person is speaking of his traumatic childhood as if reading a scripted story.
Intellectualization
A person switches it’s unacceptable impulses into its opposite.
An angry supervisee being overly nice to his supervisor.
A mother of an unwanted child make act overly protective.
Reaction Formation
Child reverts back to 2 year after mother has another child.
Dealing with anxiety or discomfort in an infantile method of coping.
Regression
Putting your own threatening impulses on someone else.
Others think and believe how we feel.
Projecting her feelings into others.
Projection
A person converts unpleasant energies into positive or useful ones.
When the doctor was a child he would love to pull the wings off a fly as he got older he channeled his energy on something more constructive and projective and is now a top surgeon.
Sublimation
Mental gymnastics we all do usually unconsciously bring painful thoughts and feelings into our conscious mind.
Defense mechanism
