What is a Defense Mechanism?

Defense Mechanisms
Most notably used by 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,
proection, reection, and reaction formation.
!ecause of anxiety provoking demands created by the id, superego, and reality, the ego
has developed a number of defense mechanisms to cope with anxiety. "lthough we may
knowingly use these mechanisms, in many cases these defenses occur unconsciously and
work to distort reality.
#hile all defense mechanisms can be unhealthy, they can also be adaptive and allow us
to function normally. $he greatest problems arise when defense mechanisms are overused
in order to avoid dealing with problems.
ID
Definition: "ccording to Freud%s psychoanalytic theory of personality, the id is the
personality component made up of unconscious psychic energy that works to satisfy
basic urges, needs, and desires. The id operates based on the pleasure principle,
which demands immediate gratification of needs.
go
Definition: "ccording to Freud, the ego is the largely unconscious part of personality
that mediates the demands of the id, the superego, and reality. $he ego prevents us from
acting on our basic urges &created by the id', but also works to achieve a balance with our
moral and idealistic standards &created by the superego'.
$he ego operates based on the reality principle, which works to satisfy the id%s desires in
a manner that is realistic and socially appropriate. For example, if a person cuts you off in
traffic, the ego prevents you from chasing down the car and physically attacking the
offending driver. $he ego allows us to see that this response would be socially
unacceptable, but it allows us to know that there are other more appropriate means of
venting our frustration.
!uper go
Definition: "ccording to Freud%s psychoanalytic theory of personality, the superego is
the component of personality composed of our internalized ideals that we have ac(uired
from our parents and from society. $he superego works to suppress the urges of the id
and tries to make the ego behave morally, rather than realistically.
go Defense Mechanisms
#e stated earlier that the ego)s ob was to satisfy the id)s impulses, not offend the
moralistic character of the superego, while still taking into consideration the reality of the
situation. #e also stated that this was not an easy ob. $hink of the id as the )devil on
your shoulder) and the superego as the )angel of your shoulder.) #e don)t want either one
to get too strong so we talk to both of them, hear their perspective and then make a
decision. $his decision is the ego talking, the one looking for that healthy balance.

!efore we can talk more about this, we need to understand what drives the id, ego, and
superego. "ccording to Freud, we only have two drives* sex and aggression. In other
words, everything we do is motivated by one of these two drives.

!e", also called ros or the #ife force, represents our dri$e to li$e, prosper, and
produce offspring. %ggression, also called Thanatos or our Death force, represents
our need to stay ali$e and sta$e off threats to our e"istence, our power, and our
prosperity.

+ow the ego has a difficult time satisfying both the id and the superego, but it doesn)t
have to do so without help. $he ego has some tools it can use in its ob as the mediator*
tools that help defend the ego. $hese are called go Defense Mechanisms or Defenses.
#hen the ego has a difficult time making both the id and the superego happy, it will
employ one or more of these defenses,

-go defenses are not necessarily unhealthy as you can see by the examples above. In
face, the lack of these defenses or the inability to use them effectively can often lead to
problems in life. .owever, we sometimes employ the defenses at the wrong time or
overuse them, which can be e(ually destructive.
#hile /igmund Freud described a number of defense mechanisms, it was his daughter
"nna Freud who provided the clearest and most comprehensive look at mechanisms of
defense in her book The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense &0123'.
&ationali'ation
&ationali'ation is a defense mechanism that involves explaining an unacceptable
behavior or feeling in a rational or logical manner, avoiding the true explanation for the
behavior. For example, a person who is turned down for a date might rationalize the
situation by saying they weren)t attracted to the other person anyway, or a student who
blames a poor exam score on the instructor rather than his or her lack of preparation.
4ationalization not only prevents anxiety, it may also protect self5esteem and self5
concept. #hen confronted by success or failure, people tend to attribute achievement to
their own (ualities and skills while failures are blamed on other people or outside forces.
4ationalization is a post5hoc &after the fact' defense mechanism.

4ationalization allows finding logical reasons for inexcusable actions.

For -xample, 6heating on $axes

7ossible 4ationalization, It is better that I hold onto this money or the government will
spend it on weapons of mass destruction.

Fail to get into Med school &law school' ,

7ossible 4ationalization, I didn)t want to pursue that career, anyway.

4ationalization helps to protect our sense of self5esteem

4ationalization is closely tied to the /elf5serving !ias, $he tendency to interpret success
as inwardly achieved and to ascribe failure to outside factors.

&epression:
4epression is the most basic defense mechanism. /ometimes referred to as, defensiveness
4epression acts to keep information out of conscious awareness. .owever, these
memories don)t ust disappear* they continue to influence our behavior. For example, a
person who has repressed memories of abuse suffered as a child may later have difficulty
forming relationships.
4epression can be conscious but is most commonly unconscious.

"dvantages ,
It can prevent inappropriate ID impulses from becoming behaviors.
It can prevent unpleasant thoughts from becoming conscious.
6an prevent memories of things we have done wrong from resurfacing.
4epression does not have to be total, partial memories where only the single piece of
damaging information is 8forgotten8 is common.

#hat an individual represses depends upon cultural expectations and the particular
development of an individual%s super5ego.
&egression
#hen confronted by stressful events, people sometimes abandon coping strategies and
revert to patterns of behavior used earlier in development. "nna Freud called this defense
mechanism regression, suggesting that people act out behaviors from the stage of
psychosexual development in which they are fixated. For example, an individual fixated
at an earlier developmental stage might cry or sulk upon hearing unpleasant news.
!ehaviors associated with regression can vary greatly depending upon which stage the
person is fixated at. !ecause of partial fixations in any of the psychosexual stages of
development, regression can occur when an individual is faced with high levels of stress
in their life.
4egression is the giving up of mature problem solving methods in favor of child like
approaches to fixing problems.
"n individual fixated at the oral stage might begin eating or smoking excessively, or
might become very verbally aggressive. /omeone with an oral fixation may increase their
cigarette smoking of lollipop licking behavior when stressed at work.
" fixation at the anal stage might result in excessive tidiness or messiness. /omeone who
is anal retentive might become more detail oriented and fastidiously neater as a result of
anxiety.
$his regression represents a way of relating to the world that was formerly effective.
4egression is a way to try to recapture some childhood satisfaction.

Denial is probably one of the best known defense mechanisms, used often to describe
those who seem unable to face reality or admit and obvious truth &i.e. 8.e)s in denial.8'.
Denial is an outright refusal to admit or recognize that something has occurred or is
currently occurring. Drug addicts or alcoholics often
Denials functions to protect the ego from things that the individual cannot cope with.
#hile this may save us from anxiety or pain, denial also re(uires a substantial investment
of energy. !ecause of this, other defenses are also used to keep these unacceptable
feelings from consciousness.
#hen people are overwhelmed by the anxiety present within a situation, they can engage
an even more severe form of memory repression,

When a person is in Denial, the individual denies that the threatening event even took
place9

In war, a mother receives word that her /on has been killed, and yet refuses to believe it,
still setting the table for him, keeping his room and clothes current.

"t school, a student seeing a grade of 868 next to their name, and automatically assuming
the professor made a grading error.

"lcoholics and other /ubstance "busers who refuse to admit they have a problem,
despite it being very apparent to everyone around them.
Denial becomes more difficult with age, as the ego matures and understands more about
the 8obective reality8 it must operate within.

7eople engaging in Denial can pay a high cost is terms of catheter psychic energy which
is used to maintain the denial state.

4epression and Denial are the two main defense mechanisms which everybody uses.

(ro)ection
(ro)ection is a defense mechanism that involves taking our own unacceptable (ualities
or feelings and ascribing them to other people. For example, if you have a strong dislike
for someone, you might instead believe that he or she does not like you. 7roection
functions to allow the expression of the desire or impulse, but in a way that the ego
cannot recognize, therefore reducing anxiety.

For example, let%s say that you do not like someone.

:our mother and father always told you to treat other people well, and to be friendly to
everyone.

$hese thoughts from your parents become embedded in your super ego.

:ou discover that you do not like this person.
If you allow this thought to consciously surface, you will experience moral anxiety in
terms of guilt feelings, because this conscious thought goes against the moral prohibitions
of your super ego.

/o, instead of consciously thinking the anxiety provoking thought 8 I do not like this
person8 , this defense mechanism allows for the non5anxiety provoking thought
8$his person does not like me 8

Displacement
If you have ever had a bad day at work, then gone home and taken out your frustration on
family and friends, you have experienced the ego defense mechanism of displacement.
Displacement involves taking out our frustrations, feelings, and impulses on people or
obects that are less threatening. Displaced aggression is a common example of this
defense mechanism. 4ather than express our anger in ways that could lead to negative
conse(uences &like arguing with our boss', we instead express our anger towards a person
or obect that poses no threat &such as our spouses, children, or pets'.

Displacement is the shifting of intended targets, especially when the initial target is
threatening.

$he classic use of displacement is in the understanding of displaced aggression.
"n individual is 8dressed down8 by the supervisor at their ob.
$hey feel anger and hostility toward their supervisor.
$heir Id, driven by aggressive impulses, would like to tear the boss)s head off.
$he -go, being reality based and very much in favor of continued paychecks, realizes
that this is not a good idea and therefore does not remove boss)s head.
$he person goes home, but still has this aggressive impulse.
$he -go allows for the individual to scream at the spouse, since it feels this will not
threaten future paychecks.
$he spouse, now angry and upset, displaces their anger on their child, who then becomes
angry and kicks their pet dog, a further displacement of anger.