Immature defense mechanisms Flashcards
delusions
frank delusions about external reality, usually persecutory
denial
refusal to accept external reality
distortion
reshaping external reality to meet own needs
splitting
categorizing people as all good or all bad
extreme projection
denial of own moral deficiency that is projected onto another group (bigotry, racism)
acting out
behaving in a socially unacceptable way
fantasy
retreat to fantasy to solve conflicts
idealization
unconsciously perceiving a person to have more positive qualities that he or she actually has
passive aggression
aggression towards other expressed indirectly
projection
shifting of unacceptable thoughts onto someone else, such that the other person is perceived to have those thoughts
somatization
transforming conflict into physical symptoms
displacement
shifting impulses from one target to a less threatening target
dissociation
drastic modification in one’s personal identity to avoid emotional distress
hypochondriasis
excessive pre-occupation with having serious illness
isolation of affect
separation of feelings from ideas
intellectualization
focusing on the intellectual aspects of a situation to distance self from the emotions
rationalization
use of false reasoning to convince self no wrong was done
reaction formation
behaving in the exact opposite way of what one thinks/feels
regression
temporary reversion to an earlier state of development
repression
unconscious exclusion of painful thoughts
undoing
tries to undo unhealthy/guilt producing action by engaging in the opposite
withdrawal
removing one’s self from things that could trigger painful thoughts or feelings
associated with paranoid PD
delusions, extreme projection
associated with borderline PD
splitting, identification
