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Figure 14.5 Defense Mechanisms
Projection refers to a person seeing attributes of his own personality in others. Repression is shown by a woman who is not only restraining a
Projection: a person believes that impulses really coming from within himself are coming from other people. (He is jealous of his girlfriend but claims that she’s the one who is jealous.)
monstrous impulse but also trying to conceal from her- self that she is doing so. The displacement of a widow’s love for her lost husband onto her pets is another defense mecha- nism. In what ways are defense mechanisms helpful?
Repression: a person pushes painful memories or anxiety out of her consciousness; a person denies or forgets what is disturbing her.
Displacement: a widow transfers her love for her late husband to her cats.
382 Chapter 14 / Theories of Personality
want to admit to himself that he is threatened by her independence may claim, “I’m not jealous—she’s the one who’s always asking where I’ve been, who that girl was I was talking to. She’s the one who’s jealous.” This mechanism is called projection because inner feelings are thrown, or pro- jected, outside the self and assigned to others. If a person thinks, for example, that others dislike him when in reality he dislikes himself, he is said to be projecting. This is a common mechanism, which you may have used yourself from time to time.
Reaction Formation
Reaction formation involves replacing an unacceptable feeling or urge with an opposite one. For example, a divorced father may resent having his child for the weekend. Unconsciously, he believes it is terribly wrong for a father to react that way, so he showers the child with expressions of love, toys, and exciting trips. A woman who finds her powerful ambitions unacceptable may play the role of a weak, helpless, passive female who