Llr1i: Table 4.1 - 3 Classification of Defense Mechanisms
Llr1i: Table 4.1 - 3 Classification of Defense Mechanisms
Llr1i: Table 4.1 - 3 Classification of Defense Mechanisms
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1 62 Chapter 4: Theories of Personal ity and Psychopathology
Table 4.1 -3
Classification of Defense Mechanisms (Continued)
Neurotic Defenses
These are common i n apparently normal and healthy individuals as well as i n neurotic disorders. They function usually in the
al leviation of distressing affects and may be expressed i n neurotic forms of behavior. Depending on circumstances, they can also
have an adaptive or socially acceptable aspect.
Controlling The excessive attempt to manage or regulate events or objects in the environment in the interest of minimizing
anxiety and solving internal confl icts.
Displacement Involves a purposefu l, unconscious shifting of impulses or affective investment from one object to another in the
i nterest of solving a confl ict. Although the object is changed, the instinctual nature of the impulse and its aim
remain unchanged.
Dissociation A temporary but drastic modification of character or sense of personal identity to avoid emotional distress; it
incl udes fugue states and hysterical conversion reactions.
External ization A general term, correlative to internalization, referring to the tendency to perceive in the external world and
in external objects components of one's own personal ity, including i nstinctual impulses, conflicts, moods,
attitudes, and styles of thinking. It is a more general term than projection, which is defined by its derivation
from and correlation with specific introjects.
Inhibition The unconsciously determined l i mitation or renunciation of specific ego functions, singly or i n combination, to
avoid anxiety arisi ng out of confl ict with instinctual impulses, superego, or environmental forces or figures.
Intel lectual ization The control of affects and impulses by way of thinking about them instead of experiencing them. It is a
systematic excess of thinking, deprived of its affect, to defend against anxiety caused by unacceptable
impu lses.
Isolation The i ntrapsychic splitting or separation of affect from content resulting in repression of either idea or affect or the
d isplacement of affect to a different or substitute content.
Rationalization A justification of attitudes, bel iefs, or behavior that might otherwise be unacceptable by an incorrect appl ication
of j ustifying reasons or the invention of a convincing fallacy.
Reaction The management of unacceptable impu lses by permitting expression of the impulse in antithetical form. Th is
formation is equivalently an expression of the impulse in the negative. Where i nstinctual conflict is persistent, reaction
formation can become a character trait on a permanent basis, usually as an aspect of obsessional character.
Repression Consists of the expel l ing and withholding from conscious awareness of an idea or feeling. It may operate either
by excluding from awareness what was once experienced on a conscious level (secondary repression) or it
may curb ideas and feelings before they have reached consciousness (primary repression). The "forgetting"
associated with repression is unique in that it is often accompanied by h ighly symbolic behavior, which
suggests that the repressed is not really forgotten. The important discrimination between repression and the
more general concept of defense has been discussed.
Sexualization The endowing of an object or function with sexual significance that it did not previously have, or possesses to a
lesser degree, to ward off anxieties connected with prohibited impulses.
Mature Defenses
These mechanisms are healthy and adaptive throughout the life cycle. They are socially adaptive and usefu l in the integration of
personal needs and motives, social demands, and i nterpersonal relations. They can underl ie seemingly admirable and virtuous
patterns of behavior.
Altruism The vicarious but constructive and instinctually gratifying service to others, even to the detriment of the self. This
must be distingu ished from altruistic surrender, which involves a masochistic surrender of direct gratification
or of instinctual needs i n favor of fulfi ll ing the needs of others to the detriment of the self, with vicarious
satisfaction only being gained through introjection.
Anticipation The real istic anticipation of or planning for future i nner discomfort: Implies overly concerned planning,
worrying, and anticipation of dire and dreadfu l possible outcomes.
Asceticism The elimination of directly pleasurable affects attributable to an experience. The moral element is impl icit i n
setting values on specific pleasures. Asceticism is di rected against all "base" pleasures perceived consciously,
and gratification is derived from the renunciation.
Humor The overt expression of feeli ngs without personal discomfort or i mmobilization and without unpleasant effect on
others. Humor al lows one to bear, and yet focus on, what is too terrible to be borne, in contrast to wit, which
always involves distraction or displacement away from the affective issue.
Subli mation The gratification of an impulse whose goal i s retai ned but whose aim or object is changed from a socially
objectionable one to a socially val ued one. Libidinal sublimation involves a desexualization of drive
impulses and the placing of a value judgment that substitutes what is valued by the superego or society.
Sublimation of aggressive impulses takes place through pleasurable games and sports. U n l i ke neurotic
defenses, sublimation allows instincts to be channeled rather than dammed up or diverted. Thus, i n
sublimation, feelings are acknowledged, modified, and di rected toward a relatively sign ificant person or goal
so that modest instinctual satisfaction results.
Suppression The conscious or semiconscious decision to postpone attention to a conscious impulse or confl ict.
Adapted from Vai l lant GE. Adaptation to Life. Boston: Little Brown; 1 977; Semrad E. The operation of ego defenses i n object loss. In: Moriarity DM, ed.
The Loss of Loved Ones. Spri ngfield, IL: Charles C Thomas; 1 967; and Bibring GL, Dwyer TF, H untington DS, Valenstein AA. A study of the psychological
principles in pregnancy and of the earliest mother-child relationship: Methodological considerations. Psychoana/ Stud Child. 1 961 ; 1 6:25.