Table 15.2 Adaptive and Maladaptive Uses of Defense Mechanisms Flashcards
altruism
largely unconsious motivation to feel caring and concern for others and act for the well being of others
a woman anonymously donates to her colleagues go fund me campaign
altruism
adaptive
a neighbor compulsively rescues cats and kittens to the detriment of the animals and his own health and safety
altruism
maladaptive
compensation
counterbalance perciveved deficiencies by empathizing strengths
a shorter than average man becomes assertively verbal and excels in buisness
compensation
adaptive
a woman drinks alcohol when feeling a low self esteem to temporarily ease her discomfort
compensation
maladaptive
conversion
unconsious transformation of anxiety into a physical symptom with no organic cause
a man becomes blind after seeing his wife enter a hotel room with another man
coversion
maladaptive
denial
escaping unpleasant, anxiety causing thoughts, feelings, wishes, or needs by ignoring their existence
a man reacts to the death of a loved one by saying “no I don’t believe you” to initially protect himself from the overwhelming news
denial
adaptive
a woman whose husband died 3 years earlier still keels his clothes in the closet and talks about him in the present tense
denial
maladaptive
displacement
transference of emotions associated with a particular person, objet, or situation to another nonthreatening person, object, or situation
a child yells at his teddy bear after being picked on by the school bully
displacement
adaptive
a child who is unable to acknowledge fear of his father becomes fearful of animals
displacement
maladaptive
dissociation
disruption in consciousness, memory, identity, or perception of the environment that results in compartmentalizing uncomftorable or unpleasant aspects of oneself
an art student is able to mentally separate herself from a noisy enviorment as she becomes absorbed in her work
dissociation
adaptive
as the result of an abusive childhood and the need to separate from its realities, a woman finds herself perpetually disconnected from reality
dissociation
maladaptive
identification
attributing to oneself the characteristic of another person or group. This may be done consciously or unconsciously
an 8 year old girl dresses up like her teacher and puts together a pretend classroom for her friends
identification
adaptive
a boy dresses and talks like the neighborhood drug dealer and starts his own gang
identification
maladaptive
intellectualization
process in which events are analyzed based on remote, cold facts and without passion, rather than incorporating feeling and emotion into the processing
despite having lost his farm to a tornado, a man analyzes his options and leads his child to safety
intellectualization
adaptive
a man responds to the death of his wife by focusing on the details of day care and operating the household rather than processing the grief with his children
intellectualization
maladaptive
projection
unconsious rejection of emotionally unacceptable features and attributing them to others