Defense Mechanisms

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Abnormal Psychology Dr. John Suler Rider University Defense Mechanisms Defense mechanisms us from being consciously aware of a thought or feeling which we cannot tolerate. The defense only allows the unconscious thought or feeling to be expressed indirectly in a disguised form. Let's say you are angry with a professor because he is very critical of you. Here's how the various defenses might hide and/or transform that anger: DENIAL: You completely reject the thought / "I'm not angry with him!" or feeling. SUPPRESSION: You are vaguely aware of the / "I'm going to try to be nice thought or feeling, but try to hide it. to him." REACTION FORMATION: You turn the feeling / "I think he's really great!" into its opposite. PROJECTION: You think someone else has / "That professor hates me." your thought or feeling. "That student hates him." DISPLACEMENT: You redirect your feelings / "I hate that secretary." to another target. RATIONALIZATION: You come up with various / "He's so critical because explanations to justify the situation he's trying to help us (while denying your feelings) do our best." INTELLECTUALIZATION: A type of rational– / "Nietzsche said that anger ization, only more intellectualized. is ontological despair." UNDOING: You try to reverse or undo your / "I think I'll give that feeling by DOING something that in– professor an apple." dictates the opposite feeling. It may be an "apology" for the unacceptable feeling. ISOLATION OF AFFECT: You "think" the / "I guess I'm angry with feeling but don't really feel it. him, sort of." REGRESSION: You revert to an old pattern / "Let's shoot spitballs at of behavior to ventilate your feeling. people!" SUBLIMATION: You redirect the feeling into / "I'm going to write a poem a socially productive activity. about anger." ** Defenses may hide any of a variety of thoughts or feelings: anger, fear, sadness, depression, greed, envy, competitiveness, love, passion, admiration, criticalness, dependency, selfishness, grandiosity, helplessness. .

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Attachment Styles and Use of Defense Mechanisms: a Study of the Adult Attachment Projective and Cramer's Defense Mechanism Scale
University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2006 Attachment Styles and Use of Defense Mechanisms: A Study of the Adult Attachment Projective and Cramer's Defense Mechanism Scale Paul Matthew Hoffman University of Tennessee, Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Hoffman, Paul Matthew, "Attachment Styles and Use of Defense Mechanisms: A Study of the Adult Attachment Projective and Cramer's Defense Mechanism Scale. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2006. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/4254 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Paul Matthew Hoffman entitled "Attachment Styles and Use of Defense Mechanisms: A Study of the Adult Attachment Projective and Cramer's Defense Mechanism Scale." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Philosophy. Leonard Handler, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend
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