Freud believed in importance of Defense Mechanisms:
Defense mechanisms arise from anxiety:An intense, negative emotional experience
neurotic anxiety: Anxiety caused when irrational impulses emanating from the id threaten to burst through and become uncontrollable
defense mechanisms: Unconscious strategies people use to reduce anxiety by concealing its source from themselves and others
Identifying Defense Mechanisms in Everyday Life
Instructions: Each of the following scenarios illustrates one of Freud’s defense mechanisms from the list below. Read each case, identify the defense mechanism, and explain how it is illustrated by the example.
DisplacementProjectionRationalizationReaction Formation
RegressionRepressionSublimationDenial
1.After losing the soccer game by failing to stop a goal, Hester explains to her older brother, “Winning is really quite meaningless and unimportant. It has little to do with true happiness.” What defense is Hester using?
2.Angela really likes her older sister’s boyfriend and wants him to ask her out despite the fact that he has eyes for only her older sister. On a conscious level, she knows her feelings are unacceptable, so she turns it around. Angela tells her best friend, “I think Roberto dates my sister to be nearer to me.” What defense is Angela using?
3.Jack is in love with his teacher but feels guilty about it. In class, he acts like a horrible, disrespectful brat. What defense is Jack using?
4.Secretly, Amanda likes reading sexually explicit materials, but she struggles because she feels it is morally wrong. She takes a job at the local library screening books for obscenity in order to protect the public. What defense is Amanda using?
5.Serika notices that her 7-year-old son likes to pull wings off flies, jab pins in the cat, and trap mice so he can cut off their tails. Serika tells herself that her son has a great future in medicine. What defense is Serika using?
6.Eric received a “fair” grade on a paper he worked very hard to complete and was quite proud of. After school, he picks a fight with his sister, calls her a jerk, and tells her she’s “stupid.” What defense is Eric using?
7.Emmanuel’s mother has been very busy taking on extra projects at work. She frequently works late or brings the projects home to complete at night. Despite the fact that he is 8 years old, Emmanuel has been sucking his thumb and wetting the bed. What defense is Emmanuel using?
8.Georgia was extremely close to her grandfather. He died unexpectedly last year, and though Georgia attended all the funeral services, she does not remember any of the events that took place for those three days. What defense is Georgia using?
Examples of DEFENSE MECHANISMS: which defense mechanism is at work in these examples?
1. The mother of an unwanted child may feel guilty about not welcoming her child. As a result, she may try to prove her love by becoming overindulgent and overprotective of the child.
2. Mrs. Brown often accused other women of talking too much and spreading rumors. It is rather obvious to those who know her that she is revealing her own inclinations in that area.
3. Paul, an aggressive child, had problems in elementary school, as he would frequently fight with other children. Paul found when he entered high school that he could channel this hostility into sports such as football and soccer.
4. Mike is always trying to impress his pals with how strong and independent he has become. However, when Mike has social or emotional problems, he still wants his dad to figure out the solution.
5. Tory is apt to become annoyed when he recalls his earlier conviction as a Peeping Tom. Tory has left his sordid past behind and now is a busy photographer for Playboy magazine.
6. Joan has discovered an amazing coincidence in relation to her attendance at school. Every time a test in Spanish is scheduled, she oversleeps and arrives at school too late for the class.
7. The high school teacher was criticized by the principal for having a disruptive class. When the teacher got home that night, he argued with his wife and kicked the dog.
8. The woman with a strong sexual drive may feel that most other women exhibit flirtatious behavior or wear revealing clothes.
9. After John was rejected by the admissions office at Yale, he claimed that he wouldn’t enjoy attending such a large school anyway. Besides, he might receive higher grades at a smaller local college.
10. Mary has secretly disliked her mother since she was a young child. As these feelings arouse anxiety, Mary usually tells friends that she loves her mother very much.