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Defence Mechanism 2021

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Earnley Franko
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7 views

Defence Mechanism 2021

Uploaded by

Earnley Franko
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Defence Mechanism

(Psychoanalysis Theory)

In psychoanalytic theory, a defence mechanism is


an unconscious psychological mechanism that reduces anxiety arising from
unacceptable or potentially harmful stimuli. It is a way how individual cope with
anxiety, stress, and psychologically challenging situation in their life.
Psychologist use defence mechanism as a way to understand a patient and use it
as therapeutic tool in helping and healing process. Defence mechanisms are
psychological strategies brought into play by the unconscious
mind. to manipulate, deny, or distort reality in order to defend against feelings
of anxiety and unacceptable impulses. Healthy people normally use different
defence mechanisms throughout life. A defence mechanism
becomes pathological only when its persistent use leads to maladaptive
behaviour such that the physical or mental health of the individual is adversely
affected. Among the purposes of ego defence mechanisms is to protect the
mind/self/ego from anxiety or social sanctions or to provide a refuge from a
situation with which one cannot currently cope. There are a few types of Defence
Mechanism:

Repression
Repression is unconscious mechanism employed by the ego to keep
disturbing or threatening thoughts from becoming conscious. For example, a
child, who faced abuse by a parent, later has no memory of the events but has
trouble forming relationships.
Denial
Denial involves blocking external events from awareness. If some
situation is just too much to handle, the person just refuses to experience it. For
example, smokers may refuse to admit to themselves that smoking is bad for
their health.

Projection
Projection is unconsciously employed by the ego and involves the process
of attributing unwanted emotions you don't like onto someone else, rather than
admitting that it exists within yourself. It includes blame-shifting and falsely
accusing others of wrongdoing. One particular example of this, which has been
proven by research, would be a man who cheats on his spouse with a colleague,
but suspects that his wife is being unfaithful and accuses her of infidelity
instead.

Displacement
Displacement is a psychological defense mechanism in which a person
redirects a negative emotion from its original source to a less threatening
recipient. For example, someone who is frustrated with her boss, may go home
and kick the dog.

Regression
Some people who feel threatened or anxious may unconsciously “escape”
to an earlier stage of development. For example, teenagers may giggle
uncontrollably when introduced into a social situation involving the opposite sex.
A student who does not get A for his/her psychological posting, refuses to attend
her next posting classes.

Sublimation
Sublimation is similar to displacement, but takes place when we manage
to displace our unacceptable emotions into behaviors which are constructive and
socially acceptable, rather than destructive activities. Sublimation is one of Anna
Freud's original defense mechanisms. For example, you feel stress, you spent all
day long in gym.

Rationalization
Rationalization is a defense mechanism that involves explaining an
unacceptable behavior or feeling in a rational or logical manner, avoiding the
true reasons for the behavior. For example, a person who is turned down for a
date might rationalize the situation by saying they were not attracted to the
other person anyway. A student might blame a poor exam score on the
instructor rather than their own lack of preparation.

Intellectualization
Intellectualization works to reduce anxiety by thinking about events in a
cold, clinical way. For example, a person who has just been diagnosed with a
terminal illness might focus on learning everything about the disease in order to
avoid distress and remain distant from the reality of the situation.

Since Freud first described the original defense mechanisms, other researchers
have continued to describe other methods of reducing anxiety. Some of these
defense mechanisms include:

• Acting out: Coping with stress by engaging in actions rather than


acknowledging and bearing certain feelings
• Aim inhibition: Accepting a modified form of their original goal (e.g.,
becoming a high school basketball coach rather than a professional
athlete)
• Altruism: Satisfying internal needs through helping others
• Avoidance: Refusing to deal with or encounter unpleasant objects or
situations
• Compensation: Overachieving in one area to compensate for failures in
another
• Dissociation: Becoming separated or removed from one's experience
• Fantasy: Avoiding reality by retreating to a safe place within one's mind
• Humor: Pointing out the funny or ironic aspects of a situation
• Passive-aggression: Indirectly expressing anger
• Undoing: Trying to make up for what one feels are inappropriate
thoughts, feelings, or behaviors (e.g., if you hurt someone's feelings, you
might offer to do something nice for them in order to assuage your
anxiety or guilt)

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