DM 1
After being told by her doctor that she has high blood pressure, Jasmine keeps eating fast food and insists, “I feel perfectly fine—doctors just exaggerate things.”
What is denial
A supervisor unconsciously feels incompetent, so she treats her employee as if the employee is unreliable and incapable. Over time, the employee starts doubting their own abilities and makes more mistakes.
What is projective identification
After cheating on an exam, Julia says, “Everyone else was doing it, and the teacher makes the tests impossible anyway.”
what is rationalization
After getting yelled at by her boss, Maria goes home and slams the door at her roommate.
What is displacement?
When Mark doesn’t get a promotion, he says, “I didn’t want that job anyway—it’s too much stress.”
What is rationalization
When a new baby sister comes home, four-year-old Liam starts asking for a bottle again and throws tantrums like he did when he was younger.
What is regression
After a stressful day at work, 30-year-old Alex curls up in bed hugging a stuffed animal and watches cartoons instead of dealing with his problems.
What is regression
Feeling insecure about his poor athletic ability, Daniel throws himself into academics and becomes the top student in his class.
What is compensation
When talking about his recent breakup, Aaron focuses entirely on analyzing why relationships statistically fail instead of discussing how hurt he feels.
What is intellectualization
Right before a big presentation, David decides not to think about his recent breakup so he can focus on his work.
What is suppression
Sofia, who feels jealous of her coworker, accuses the coworker of being “so competitive and jealous all the time.”
what is projection
A man who feels angry but can’t admit it accuses his partner of being “hostile.” The partner becomes defensive and irritated, actually becoming angry — fulfilling his original projection.
what is projective identification
After a traumatic childhood accident, Sara can’t remember any details of what happened.
what is repression
Tom feels resentful toward his demanding boss, but instead of showing it, he constantly compliments her and brings her coffee.
What is reaction formation
A person with strong aggressive impulses joins a boxing gym to release energy.
what is sublimation
A person who was bullied in high school becomes a strict manager, insisting on “discipline” at work.
identification with the aggressor
Instead of discussing his frustration with his partner, Mike throws a vase across the room after an argument.
what is acting out
A student angry at her teacher slams her locker and snaps at her friends instead.
what is displacement
After being rejected from her dream university, Ana decides to attend a different college and throws herself into campus life there.
What is substitution
After starting a new job, a young employee begins dressing and speaking like her confident supervisor.
identification
Instead of expressing anger at the friend who insulted her, Mia begins harshly criticizing herself for being “too sensitive.”
What is turning against the self?
After yelling at her partner, Lisa brings home an expensive gift to “erase” the guilt of her outburst.
what is undoing
This automatic, unconscious defense mechanism keeps distressing memories or feelings out of awareness.
What is repression
This defense mechanism is at work when someone channels unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable behaviors—like taking up boxing to manage anger.
what is sublimation
Openly expressing the opposite of an unacceptable impulse, this mechanism appears when a person who feels deep resentment toward a coworker behaves overly friendly toward them.
What is reaction formation
After receiving a serious diagnosis, Jacob copes by researching statistical survival rates and discussing pathology—but avoids acknowledging any of his emotions.
What is intellectualization
A student anxious about the ACT suddenly develops temporary paralysis in her hand, preventing her from writing the test.
what is conversion
Overcoming real or perceived weaknesses by excelling in another area—like a student with poor academic performance pouring energy into becoming a star athlete.
what is compensation
After years of harsh criticism from a parent, a teenager begins applying the same critical judgments to himself, adopting them as his own beliefs.
What is introjection
After spending days missing her mother while away at camp, a child begins pretending to “eat” her mother’s favorite foods and repeats her mother’s exact phrases, as if taking parts of her mother inside herself to feel close and safe.
What is incorporation
Introjection: internalizing rules, values, or judgments of others (“My dad criticizes me, so now I criticize myself”).
Identification: adopting another person’s characteristics to feel like them (“I dress like my favorite teacher”).
Incorporation: more primitive—symbolically taking the other person into oneself (emotionally or imaginatively).