Defense Mechanisms - Vertrees Flashcards
defense mechanism
unconscious mental process serving to provide relief from internal emotional conflict or anxiety
narcissistic
psychotic defenses
denial and projection
denial
avoid awareness of painful aspect of reality - negate sensory data
denial abolishes external reality
projection
perceiving and reacting to unacceptable inner impulse and their derivatives as though outside the self
frank delusion of external reality - perception of ones feelings in another and subsequent acting on that perception
immature defense mechanisms
acting out
blocking
passive-aggresive
regression
acting out
giving into impulse to avoid tension that would result from postponement of expression
blocking
temporary or transient inhibiting thinking
tension arises when impulse, affect, or thought is inhibited
passive-aggressive behavior
aggression towards others through passive, masochism, and turning against the self
regression
return to earlier phase of function - to avoid tension and conflict evoked at present level of development
neurotic defenses
common in normal healthy adults in moderation
controlling displacement externalization inhibition intellectualization isolation - of affect rationilization dissociation reaction formation repression
immature defenses
in early adulthood - do less as mature
personality disorder - retain into adulthood
controlling
manage or regulate events or objects in environment to minimize anxiety and to resolve inner conflict
displacement
shift emotion or drive cathexis from one idea or object to another that resembles original
symbolic representation of origional idea
externalization
perceive external world and in external objects - elements of ones personality
impulses, conflicts, moods, attitudes, styles of thinking
inhibition
consciously limiting or renouncing some ego functions
to evade anxiety arising out of conflict with superego
intellectualization
excessive use of intellectual processes to avoid affective expression or experience
focus on inanimate to avoid intimacy with people
focus on extenal reality to avoid inner feelings
isolation of affect
splitting or separation of idea from affect that accompanies it
rationalization
rational explanation in attempt to justify attitudes, belief, or behavior
dissociation
modify personal character to avoid emotional distress
fugue states and hysteria
reaction formation
transforming unacceptable impulse into its opposite
obsessional character
repression
expelling or withholding from consciousness an idea or feeling
curbing of idea and feelings before they have attained consciousness
secondary - excludes from awareness what once was experienced
differ from suppression - effect conscious inhibition of impulses - to point of losing and not just postponing cherished goals
mature defense
health and adaptive throughout life
altruism
using gratifying service to undergo vicarious experience
anticipation
anticipating and planning for future inner discomfort
asceticism
eliminate pleasurable effect of experiences
humor
using comedy to overtly express feelings and thoughts without personal discomfort
sublimation
achieve impulse gratification and retention of goals - alter social objectionable aim or object to socially acceptable one
instinct channeled and directed toward significant object or goal
suppression
postponing attention to conscious impulse or conflict
deliberately cut off - but not avoided
suppression
postponing attention to conscious impulse or conflict
deliberately cut off - but not avoided
displacement
can’t tell someone what you think - so take it out on someone else
projection
paranoia
borderline personality under stress
false accusation
floating outside body, watch oneself act, feel no emotions, nothing around him was real, watching movie of myself
dissociation
depersonalization and derealization
in severe stress situations
tell story of war trauma with no emotion
isolation of affect
man wants to have sex with and do drugs
instead - starts anti-gay and anti-drug campaigns
reaction formation
goal or desire - but can’t - so defend against it - opposite in socially acceptable way
sublimation
not opposing drive - finding socially acceptable way to do it
like to hit other people - become boxer
have impulse - and just go do it
acting out
anticipation
preparing for first date anxiety
suppression
acknowledge conflict - but put it aside - deal with it at appropriate time
repression
not acknowledging conflict
OCD
undoing, magical thinking
paranoid
projection
borderline personality disorder
splitting, projection, acting out
most therapies
work to tear down immature defense - replace with mature ones
splitting
see others as wholly good or wholly bad
cannot recognize individual as good and bad mixture - which is what we all are
under stress
people regress to lower levels
denial
with severe illness - fail to understand severity
or parent fail to understand severity of child illness
projection
paranoid delusion with hallucinations - in adult
imaginary playmate - childhood
dishonest people
often suspect you of the same
acting out
drug use or sexual promiscuity
man anxious about new job develops headache first day of work
somatization
undoing
woman who was housekeeper - hand washing compulsion after child develops pneumonia
man son killed by drunk drive - attacks drunken street person
displacement
women sexually abused as child - two distinct personalities in adulthood
dissociation
physician who gets pancreatic cancer diagnosis obsesses over statistics
intellectualization
expression of no emotion when talking about dead family member
isolation of affect
being friendly toward someone you don’t like
reaction formation
man son killed drunk driver - speaks at high schools about drunk driving
sublimation
