Page 395 - Understanding Psychology

To some degree, defense mechanisms are necessary for psychological well-being. They relieve intolerable confusion and stress, help people weather intense emotional crises, and give individuals time to work out problems they might not be able to solve if they allowed themselves to feel all the pressures at work within them. However, if a person resorts to defense mechanisms all of the time, he will avoid facing and solving his problems realistically. A few of the defense mechanisms Freud identified are discussed below.
Rationalization
If you explained your poor performance on your last math test by saying, “The test questions were bad; they didn’t make sense,” rather than admitting that you did not study for the test, you practiced rationalization. Rationalization involves making up acceptable excuses for behaviors that cause us to feel anxious.
Repression
When a person has painful memories and unacceptable thoughts and motives that cause the ego too much anxiety, she may push those thoughts or urges out of consciousness down into the unconscious. This process is called repression. The person simply pushes the disturbing thoughts and memories out of awareness without ever realizing it. For example, a grown woman whose father is meddling in her life may have the impulse to say, “I hate you, Dad.” The woman may feel so anxious and afraid about having such an impulse that she unconsciously will come to believe that what she feels is not hatred. She replaces the feeling with apathy. She says, “I don’t hate you. I have no special feelings at all about you.” Nevertheless, the feelings of anger and hostility remain in the uncon- scious and may show themselves in cutting remarks, sarcastic jokes, slips of the tongue, or dreams.
Denial
You are in denial if you refuse to accept the reality of something that makes you anxious. For example, it is a stormy and frightening night, and the local television and radio announcers are advis- ing citizens to take cover and observe the tornado warnings in effect. David does not believe that his town will get hit (he is in denial) and is severely injured after failing to heed the warnings.
Projection
Another way the ego avoids anxiety is to believe that impulses coming from within are really coming from other people. For example, a boy who is extremely jealous of his girlfriend but does not
Reading Check
According to Freud, why do people create defense
mechanisms?
Figure 14.4 Freudian Slip
Freudian slips are mistakes or slips of the tongue that we make in everyday speech. Freud believed that these slips reflect our unconscious thoughts or wishes. What is the Freudian slip that this turkey makes?
Chapter 14 / Theories of Personality 381