Ego Defenses Flashcards
Acting out
Expressing unacceptable feelings and thoughts through actions.
ex. tantrums
Denial
Avoiding the awareness of some painful reality
Displacement
Transferring avoided ideas and feelings to a neutral person or object
Fixation
Partially remaining at more childish level of development
ex. adults fixating on video games
Identification
Modeling behavior after another person who is more powerful (though not necessarily admired)
Isolation (of affect)
Separating feelings from ideas and events
ex) describing murder in graphic detail with no emotional response
Passive aggression
Expressing negativity and performing below what is expected as an indirect show of opposition
Projection
Attributing an unacceptable internal impulse to an external source
ex. a man who wants another woman thinks his wife is cheating on him
Rationalization
Proclaiming logical reasons for actions actually performed for other reasons, usually to avoid self-blame
Reaction formation
Replacing a warded-off idea or feeling by an (unconsciously derived) emphasis on its opposite
Regression
Turning back the maturational clock and going back to earlier modes of dealing with the world
Repression
Involuntarily withholding an idea or feeling from conscious awareness
Splitting
Believing that people are either all good or all bad at different times due to intolerance of ambiguity. Commonly seen in borderline personality disorder
Altruism
Alleviating negative feelings via unsolicited generosity
ex. mafia boss makes large donation to charity
Humor
Appreciating the amusing nature of an anxiety-provoking or adverse situation
