Catalan-Macabig, Morena BS- IV (regular) PSYCH 302: personality Theories August 02 2011 IP CEREA #07: Defense Mechanisms A.

. Defense Mechanism -Most notably used by Sigmund Freud in his psychoanalytic theory, a defense mechanism is a tactic developed by the ego to protect against anxiety. Defense mechanisms are thought to safeguard the mind against feelings and thoughts that are too difficult for the conscious mind to cope with. In some instances, defense mechanisms are thought to keep inappropriate or unwanted thoughts and impulses from entering the conscious mind. For example, if you are faced with a particularly unpleasant task, your mind may choose to forget your responsibility in order to avoid the dreaded assignment. In addition to forgetting, other defense mechanisms include rationalization, denial, repression, projection, rejection and reaction formation. "Defense mechanisms," or ways that we protect ourselves from things that we don't want to think about or deal with. The term got its start in psychoanalytic therapy, but it has slowly worked its way into everyday language. Think of the last time you referred to someone as being "in denial" or accused someone of "rationalizing." Both of these examples refer to a type of defense mechanism. In Sigmund Freud's topographical model of personality, the ego is the aspect of personality that deals with reality. While doing this, the ego also has to cope with the conflicting demands of the id and the superego. The id seeks to fulfill all wants, needs and impulses while the superego tries to get the ego to act in an idealistic and moral manner. What happens when the ego cannot deal with the demands of our desires, the constraints of reality and our own moral standards? According to Freud, anxiety is an unpleasant inner state that people seek to avoid. Anxiety acts as a signal to the ego that things are not going right. Freud identified three types of anxiety: 1. Neurotic anxiety is the unconscious worry that we will lose control of the id's urges, resulting in punishment for inappropriate behavior. 2. Reality anxiety is fear of real-world events. The cause of this anxiety is usually easily identified. For example, a person might fear receiving a dog bite when they are near a menacing dog. The most common way of reducing this anxiety is to avoid the threatening object. 3. Moral anxiety involves a fear of violating our own moral principles. In order to deal with this anxiety, Freud believed that defense mechanisms helped shield the ego from the conflicts created by the id, superego and reality. 1. Anticipation -Anticipation is a mature psychological defense mechanism that involves the realistic planning for future inner discomfort. It also includes goal-directed and premature planning behavior for a variety of future scenarios. As a coping mechanism, anticipation permits the user to become affectively aware of an event before it happens, and thus attenuates anxiety and depression. The individual deals with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by experiencing emotional reactions in advance of, or anticipating consequences of, possible future events and considering realistic, alternative responses or solutions. For example my sister, Sehreen, who is 16 years old has her exams coming up in two months. She has started to prepare for his exams from this week so as to avoid getting stressed out a day before the exam. In this case she is using her defense mechanism of anticipation to avoid facing anxiety and feeling unprepared a night before the final exam.

2. Affiliation - Affiliation is to seek another's help in getting over your problem. It is done by turning to others for support. Example is when a person shares his/her problems with people he/she trusts, but this doesnt necessarily mean that they should do something about the problem. 3. Altruism - is satisfying internal satisfaction by helping other people. Examples are people who are really into community service. They like what they are doing; they devote their time to it and yet seek nothing in turn, because the satisfaction from it alone is enough for them. Example, after your wife dies, you keep yourself busy by volunteering at your church. 4. Humor - is expressing overt feelings and thoughts (without producing an unpleasant effect on others) by the use of comedy. I guess the line those who laugh the most are those with the biggest problems. Instead of taking the problem seriously, they cope with it, by making jokes out of them. It is Looking at the funny side of a situation can help you forget about the real problem. Example, a person's treatment for cancer makes him lose his hair so he makes jokes about being bald. 5. Self- assertion -The individual expresses feelings or thoughts directly and appropriately. 6. Self- observation - is done by freely expressing ones feelings and thoughts directly in a way that is not manipulative. An example here, when a person in a white country is being discriminated for being black, then the person would actively stand up for himself and confront people about their racism. (such as through journaling) is an alternative to seeking out others that offers some of the same benefits, including venting of feelings, distancing and increased perspective. 7. Sublimation -Sublimation is simply the channeling of unacceptable impulses, thoughts and emotions into more acceptable ones. For instance, when a person has sexual impulses they would like not to act upon, they may instead focus on rigorous exercise. Refocusing such unacceptable or harmful impulses into productive use helps person channel energy that otherwise would be lost or used in a manner that might cause the person more anxiety. Example, Intense rage redirected in the form of participation in sports such as boxing or football. Sublimation can also be done with humor or fantasy. Humor, when used as a defense mechanism, is the channeling of unacceptable impulses or thoughts into a light-hearted story or joke. Humor reduces the intensity of a situation, and places a cushion of laughter between the person and the impulses. Fantasy, when used as a defense mechanism, is the channeling of unacceptable or unattainable desires into imagination. For example, imagining ones ultimate career goals can be helpful when one experiences temporary setbacks in academic achievement. Both can help a person look at a situation in a different way, or focus on aspects of the situation not previously explored. 8. Suppression - is postponing the negative affect to accomplish what must be done but does not deny. An example to this would be a man who is scheduled to have dinner with his girlfriends parents. While he was at work, he fines himself anxious about dinner causing him to mess up his work; he then decides not to think about the dinner not until he leaves work. 9. Displacement -Displacement is the redirecting of thoughts feelings and impulses directed at one person or object, but taken out upon another person or object. People often use displacement when they cannot express their feelings in a safe manner to the person they are directed at. The classic example is the man who gets

angry at his boss, but cant express his anger to his boss for fear of being fired. He instead comes home and kicks the dog or starts an argument with his wife. The man is redirecting his anger from his boss to his dog or wife. Naturally, this is a pretty ineffective defense mechanism, because while the anger finds a route for expression, its misapplication to other harmless people or objects will cause additional problems for most people. Example, when you get mad at your sister, you break your drinking glass by throwing it against the wall. 10. Dissociation

-Splitting-off a group of thoughts or activities from the main portion of consciousness; compartmentalization. Example: a politician works vigorously for integrity in government, but at the same time engages in a business venture involving a conflict of interest without being consciously hypocritical and seeing no connection between the two activities. Some dissociation is helpful in keeping one portion of one's life from interfering with another (e.g., not bringing problems home from the office). However, dissociation is responsible for some symptoms of mental illness; it occurs in "hysteria" (certain somatoform and dissociative disorders) and schizophrenia, the dissociation of hysteria involves a large segment of the consciousness while that in schizophrenia is of numerous small portions. The apparent splitting of affect from content often noted in schizophrenia is usually spoken of as dissociation of affect, though isolation might be a better term. 11. Intellectualization -Intellectualization is the overemphasis on thinking when confronted with an unacceptable impulse, situation or behavior without employing any emotions whatsoever to help mediate and place the thoughts into an emotional, human context. Rather than deal with the painful associated emotions, a person might employ intellectualization to distance themselves from the impulse, event or behavior. For instance, a person who has just been given a terminal medical diagnosis, instead of expressing their sadness and grief, focuses instead on the details of all possible fruitless medical procedures.. 12. Isolation of affect -Attempting to avoid a painful thought or feeling by objectifying and emotionally detaching oneself from the feeling. Example, acting aloof and indifferent toward someone when you really dislike that person. 13. Reaction formation -Reaction Formation is the converting of unwanted or dangerous thoughts, feelings or impulses into their opposites. For instance, a woman who is very angry with her boss and would like to quit her job may instead be overly kind and generous toward her boss and express a desire to keep working there forever. She is incapable of expressing the negative emotions of anger and unhappiness with her job, and instead becomes overly kind to publicly demonstrate her lack of anger and unhappiness. Example, When you say you're not angry when you really are. 14. Regression -Regression is the reversion to an earlier stage of development in the face of unacceptable thoughts or impulses. For an example an adolescent who is overwhelmed with fear, anger and growing sexual impulses might become clingy and start exhibiting earlier childhood behaviors he has long since overcome, such as bedwetting. An adult may regress when under a great deal of stress, refusing to leave their bed and engage in normal, everyday activities. Example, You and your roommate have get into an argument so you stomp off into another room and pout. 15. Undoing -Undoing is the attempt to take back an unconscious behavior or thought that is unacceptable or hurtful. For instance, after realizing you just insulted your significant other unintentionally, you might spend then next hour praising their beauty, charm and intellect. By undoing the previous action, the person is attempting to counteract the damage done by the original comment, hoping the two will balance one another out. Example, you have feelings of dislike for someone so you buy them a gift.

16. Devaluation - A defense mechanism in which emotional conflict or stressors are dealt with by attributing exaggerated negative qualities to the self or to others. 17. Idealization -Overestimation of the desirable qualities and underestimation of the limitations of a desired object. Examples: (1) a lover speaks in glowing terms of the beauty and intelligence of an average-looking woman who is not very bright. (2) A purchaser, having finally decided between two items, expounds upon the advantages of the one chosen. 18. Omnipotence -The individual deals with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by feeling or acting as if he or she possesses special powers or abilities and is superior to others. 19. Denial -Denial is the refusal to accept reality or fact, acting as if a painful event, thought or feeling did not exist. It is considered one of the most primitive of the defense mechanisms because it is characteristic of early childhood development. Many people use denial in their everyday lives to avoid dealing with painful feelings or areas of their life they dont wish to admit. For instance, a person who is a functioning alcoholic will often simply deny they have a drinking problem, pointing to how well they function in their job and relationships. Example, you are arrested for drunk driving several times but don't believe you have a problem with alcohol. 20. Projection -Projection is the misattribution of a persons undesired thoughts, feelings or impulses onto another person who does not have those thoughts, feelings or impulses. Projection is used especially when the thoughts are considered unacceptable for the person to express, or they feel completely ill at ease with having them. For example, a spouse may be angry at their significant other for not listening, when in fact it is the angry spouse who does not listen. Projection is often the result of a lack of insight and acknowledgement of ones own motivations and feelings. Example, you get really mad at your husband but scream that he's the one mad at you. 21. Rationalization -Rationalization is putting something into a different light or offering a different explanation for ones perceptions or behaviors in the face of a changing reality. For instance, a woman who starts dating a man she really, really likes and thinks the world of is suddenly dumped by the man for no reason. She reframes the situation in her mind with, I suspected he was a loser all along. Example, I always study hard for tests and I know a lot of people who cheat so it's not a big deal I cheated this time. 22. Autistic fantasy -A defense mechanism characterized by excessive daydreaming as a solution for emotional conflict or stressors, substituting for human relationships or for more effective actions. 23. Projective identification -As in projection, the individual deals with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by falsely attributing to another his or her own unacceptable feelings, impulses, or thoughts. Unlike simple projection, the individual does not fully disavow what is projected. Instead, the individual remains aware of his or her own affects or impulses but miss-attributes them as justifiable reactions to the other person. Not infrequently, the individual induces the very feelings in others that were first mistakenly believed to be there, making it difficult to clarify who did what to whom first. 24. Splitting of self image -This term is widely used today to explain the coexistence within the ego of contradictory states, representative of self and others, as well as attitudes to self and others; other individuals or the self is perceived as "All good or all bad. Example, you think your best friend is absolutely worthless because he forgot a lunch date with you.

25. Acting out -The individual copes with stress by engaging in actions rather than reflecting upon internal feelings. it is performing an extreme behavior in order to express thoughts or feelings the person feels incapable of otherwise expressing, without any consideration whether it is a good idea not. An example is when a person is extremely angry about another, he intensely attacks that person without putting into consideration that he/she might hurt that person or he/she might be sued for that offense. 26. Apathetic withdrawal - is done by simply withdrawing from interaction with the world rather than deal with its assaults and challenges. Example is when an athlete, experiences losing for the first time, devastated, he immediately decides of quitting instead of trying to improve himself for future competitions. 27. Help rejecting complaining -The individual deals with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by complaining or making repetitious requests for help that disguise covert feelings or hostility or reproach toward others, which are then expressed by rejecting the suggestions, advice, or help that others offer. The complaints or requests may involve physical or psychological symptoms or life problems. 28. Passive aggression -Passive aggression is basically hiding aggression in passive behavior. People who write graffition walls and people who spread rumors are both passive aggressive. A person who uses a passive-aggressive method to cope with stresses on them does this by 'attacking' others through passive means. Thus, the aggressive intent is cloaked by the passive method. Passive aggression often appears when a person is asked to do something which they want to avoid for some reason (such as priority of other work). By appearing to agree but not making any real commitment, they can avoid the action. A more severe form of passive aggression is to agree to commitments and then not do anything to fulfill them. A toned down version is to do the minimum possible whilst putting on a grand show of appearing to be fully engaged. 29. Delusional projection - is alters reality in response to the projection. An example would be a girl thinks that her best friend is in love with her. Whenever they go out like the normally do, shed think that her best friend wants to go out on a date with her. This has represented the girls infatuation with her best friend. 30. Psychotic denial - is done by eliminating external realities. An example is what Margaret G. Spinelli gave in her book, Infanticide; Women with psychotic disorders may deny pregnancy in a delusional way. In such cases, physical symptoms and signs of pregnancy generally occur but are misinterpreted, sometimes in bizarre fashions. One woman believed, on sensing fetal movement, that her liver and kidneys had become unmoored in her body and were rattling around loose. 31. Psychotic distortion - is changing the situation into one that is at odds with possibilities of Reality. An example is when a persons husband has died, and she thinks that she would bring her husband back to life just like how the creature Frankenstein was brought to life by Victor Frankenstein.