Ego Defenses - Sheet1

Question 1

This Ego defense of tantrums is an example of this immature defense where one expresses unacceptable feelings and thoughts through actions:

Answer 1

Acting out

Question 2

This Ego defense term is used to describe when a pt receives a new diagnosis and avoids the awareness of some painful reality

Answer 2

Denial

Question 3

This Ego defense means transferring avoided ideas and feelings to a neutral person or object:

Answer 3

Displacement

Question 4

This Ego defense refers to temporary, drastic change in personality, memory, consciousness, or motor behavior to avoid emotional stress. Extreme forms can result in dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder)

Answer 4

Dissociation

Question 5

This Ego defense refers to a pt partially remaining at a more childish level of development (vs regression) example is Adults playing video games

Answer 5

Fixation

Question 6

This Ego defense refers to expressing extremely positive thoughts of self and others while ignoring negate thoughts. Like when a patient boasts about his physicians and his accomplishments ignoring any flaws:

Answer 6

Idealization

Question 7

This Ego defense refers to modeling behavior after another person who is more powerful (though not necessarily admired) so when an abused child later becomes a child abuser:

Answer 7

Identification

Question 8

This Ego defense refers to using facts and logic to emotionally distance ones self from a stressful situation, for example a patient recently diagnosed with cancer only focuses on survival rates

Answer 8

Intellectualization

Question 9

This Ego defense refers to separating feelings from ideas and events for example describing murder in graphic detail with no emotional response

Answer 9

Isolation (or affect)

Question 10

This Ego defense refers to failing to meet the needs/expectations of others as an indirect show of opposition for example a disgruntled employee is repeatedly late to work

Answer 10

Passive aggression

Question 11

This Ego defense refers to attributing an unacceptable internal impulse to an external source (not displacement) for example a man who wants to cheat on his wife accuses of his wife of being unfaithful

Answer 11

Projection

Question 12

This Ego defense refers to proclaiming logical reasons for actions actually performed for other reasons, usually to avoid self-blame. For example after getting fired, claiming the job was not important anyway

Answer 12

Rationalization

Question 13

This Ego defense refers to replacing a warded-off idea or feeling by an (unconsciously derived) or emphasis on opposite (vs sublimation) for example, a patient with libidinous thoughts enters a monastery

Answer 13

Reaction formation

Question 14

This Ego defense refers to involuntarily turning back the maturational clock and going back to earlier modes of dealing with the world vs fixation, for example seen in children under stress of an illness, punishment or birth of a new sibling starts bedwetting when they were previously toilet-trained

Answer 14

Regression

Question 15

This Ego defense refers to involuntarily withholding an idea or feeling from conscious awareness vs suppression. For example, a 20 y/o does not remember going to counseling during his parents divorce 10 years earlier:

Answer 15

Repression

Question 16

This Ego defense refers to believing that people are either all good or all bad due to intolerance of ambiguity, commonly seen in borderline personality disorder. Ie patient says all nurses are cold and insensitive but doctors are warm and friendly

Answer 16

Splitting

Question 17

This mature defense refers to replacing an unacceptable wish with a course of action that is similar to the wish but does not conflict with one’s value system (vs reaction formation) i.e. a teenagers aggression toward their father is redirected to perform well in another are of life

Answer 17

Sublimation

Question 18

This mature defense refers to alleviating negative feelings via unsolicited generosity for example a Mafia boss makes large donation to charity

Answer 18

Altruism

Question 19

This mature defense refers to intentionally withholding an idea or feeling from conscious awareness (vs repression) temporarily for example choosing to not worry about the Step 1 until it is time time to fux sh*t up

Answer 19

Suppression

Question 20

This mature defense refers to appreciating the amusing nature of an anxiety provoking or adverse situation for example nervous medical student jokes about the boards…. only the boards are no joke

Answer 20

Humor