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Defence Mechanisms
Introduction
According to Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, defence mechanisms are psychological
strategies that are brought into play by various entities to cope with reality and to maintain selfimage
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According to Myers D
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(2001), defence mechanism is the ego's protective method of reducing
anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
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Adefence mechanism is a strategy that is developed in an
effort to reduce the tension that is being experienced at a given time
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Types and causes of defence mechanism
Causes of defence mechanisms
1
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of control, or is faced with
dangers from the environment, resulting anxiety
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When realistic methods or strategies are ineffective in reducing anxiety
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When frustration or anxiety accumulates and become increasingly difficult to resolve or
cope with
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1
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This represents the direct attack on the source of anxiety or
frustration
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Examples of this technique include aggression, fantasy, regression and repression
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Compromise technique
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It enables individuals to defend themselves
against the frustration and fears
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They help to create a balance between motives, needs, impulses and defence
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Repression
This is the blocking from the conscious the feelings, experiences, impulses or memories that arouse
anxiety
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Such a child can choose to suppress such thoughts in order to avoid the
feelings brought by the memory,
Regression

This is a temporary reversion of the ego to an earlier stage of development rather than handling
the unacceptable impulses in a more mature way
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When children are
traumatized after watching aggressive events like murder and robbery they may start to bed-wet
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It
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It also involves a release of aggressive impulses in the form of socially
acceptable or even admired behaviour
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Displacement
This involves channeling aggressive, unacceptable or dangerous impulses to a safer substitute
target
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For example, a class teacher who is reprimanded by the head teacher does not retaliate
but goes to class and starts scolding the children,
Denial
This is refusing to acknowledge that an anxiety-arousing situation has occurred
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For example, a parent who has a child with a
special need may refuse to accept that her child has a special need and may insist that the child
remains in a regular classroom instead of a special unit
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It is the shifting of
one's unacceptable thoughts, feelings and impulses within oneself onto someone else, such that
those same thoughts, feelings and impulses are perceived as being possessed by the other
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A
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Reaction formation
This involves saying or doing the opposite of what one really feels about others
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For example, a child who hates his sister may say he loves his sister and may even bin' her presents,
or a mother who dislikes her child may become defensive and over protective of the child
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Rationalization
'This is justifying behaviour in a difficult situation by pretending that the difficulty does not really
exist
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For example, a boy who hates his younger sister pinches her and says
that, after all, she was playing in the wrong place
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For example, a deaf or blind child can become a very good dancer, and a
child who does do well in academics can excel in craftwork, drawing, construction or athletics
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Superiority complex is a feeling of too much self-worth
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Intellectualization
This involves thinking rationally and logically about threatening thoughts and emotions, so as to
be able to avoid them and find solutions
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For example, a person who takes very dangerous drugs may focus on special aspects
such as taste, shape, colour and other non-disturbing characteristics and avoid reading the warning
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For example, a person who doesn't
want to grow fat may eat high calorie food and, thereafter, decide induce vomiting, do extraneous
exercises or avoid eating for an extended period of time
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 The causes of defence mechanisms include the confrontation of the ego by impulses that
threaten to get out of control when realistic methods or strategies are ineffective in reducing
anxiety and when anxieties accumulate and become increasingly difficult to resolve
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 Over dependence on defence mechanisms is harmful to the ego and may lead one not to be
in touch with reality
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References
Allport, G
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(1927)
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Psychological Bulletin, 24, 284293
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H
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W
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Personality traits: Their classification and
measurement
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Boeree, C
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(2006)
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Personality theories
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ship
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html

Bandura, A
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Principles of Behavior Modification
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Bandura, A
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(1963)
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New
York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston
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F
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M
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Rethinking and reclaiming the interdisciplinary
role of personality psychology: The science of human nature should be the center of the
social sciences and humanities
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Cattell, R
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(1965)
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Baltimore: Penguin books
Cattell, R
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(1965)
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Baltimore:
books

Penguin

Carver, C
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(1996)
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Journal of Research in Personality, 30, 319-334
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(1996)
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Journal of Research in Personality, 30, 389-399
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S
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Capturing the dynamic nature of personality
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Epstein, S
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Recommendations for the future development of personality
psychology
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McAdams, D
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(1995)
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McCrae, R
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, & Costa, P
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, Jr
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Trait explanations in personality
psychology
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Does the field of personality have a future? Journal of Research
in Personality, 30, 429-434
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& Njuguna J
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Personality development
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Personality: Current controversies, issues, and directions
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Revelle, W
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Personality processes
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Papalia D
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& Olds, S
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(1998) Human development
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Boston:
McGraw Hill
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W
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F
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The rank-order consistency of personality
traits from childhood to old age: A quantitative review of longitudinal
studies
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Sarason, I
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, Sarason, B
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, & Pierce, G
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(1996)
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Journal of
Research in Personality, 30, 447-453

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