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The defense mechanisms I employ in the anxiety are rationalization and displacement.

Rationalization can be defined as an unconscious defense mechanism that leads to the justification of behavior

and attitude that would be otherwise unacceptable. Rationalization is the creation of false excuses for problems

and failure. The definition of defense mechanism is in itself a way of reaching compromises for the conflicts

we face so that they can be resolve. The other method I often employ is displacement. I feel that I am wrong in

portraying my faults on others, but I do it out of anxiety, at that moment, I am unable to understand my

behavior. For example, I will blame my friend for the late submission of an assignment, and I will say it all your

fault you were inviting me to play PUBG and wasted my time, although I could refuse him. But this is how I

behave. An epitome of rationalization is like most of the time; when I am late at work due to playing video

games, I make false excuses that I may have a night of poor sleep because I didn’t eat well. But I never accept

that the primary reason behind this is my evil schedule of wasting time at video games.

Displacement occurred when we targeted our actual desire for another substitute. (Fenichel, 2016).

Displacement is usually of different types. Like it can object displacement in which the feeling associated with

someone are expressed somewhere else. According to Freud, the children express fear of their parents on

animals in the form of phobias. (Freud & Strachey, 2003). Displacement is also observed as a defense

mechanism of anxiety, especially in dealing with close relations, but this has affected the connections as well.

As I quote my example of displacement of my anger on my friend; as a result, my relationship with him is

damaged. (Rezezsutak, 2017)

Rationalization uses unacceptable behavior. It also includes motives and feelings. According to DSM-

IV, rationalization is the result of conflicts on the stressor. It occurs when we hide our motivators, thoughts,

belief through the feeling of false reassurance. (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 2000).
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Rationalization is also used to cover disappointments. If I put an example of myself, I would say that I lost for

an internship last year, but I used to say that I don’t want it as of first place.

When coping with stress, I deal with a cognitive and behavioral coping strategy. If we look at problem-

irected coping, it involves that we have to recognize the stressor first and confront it. We must adopt a problem-

olving approach. In this case, an example would be how we deal with our exams. Like we make a schedule of

tudy, divide the chapters, and make a routine of reading them. This is a problem-solving strategy. This process

nvolves step by step approach. The first step is the identification of stressor and how is it influencing our life; the

econd step is what resources we have to deal with the aggressor. (Sanchez-Craig, 1976).

The other coping technique is social support. It has a significant impact on my life than when I lost my brother at

hat time, my friends supported me to get out of that stressful environment. A similar situation arises when I have

o pay the debt, and my friends and family help me financially. Social support is critical in coping with stress.

ocial support gives us the perception that you are loved and cared for by others. It helps in developing positive

sychology to deal with the stressor. It acts as a buffering agent against the negative.Social support

imultaneously serves as a problem-focused and emotional focused-coping strategy. The problem-focused

olution is a tangible help to eliminate the problem. The emotional-focused help is emotional stability provided

y the support group to regulate the emotional imbalance in case of stress. (Folkman, 1991)

A cognitive-behavioral coping strategy is applied as a treatment option in alcoholism. Another study reveals that

he importance of CBST is an effective treatment in post-traumatic stress disorders (Pietrzak, Harpaz-Rotem, &

outhwick, 2011). Cognitive reconstruction,self-monitoring, setting, and managing goals, and decision-making

weigh Pros and Cons are the ways to cognitive-behavioral coping strategy. The coping strategy has positive

utcomes in the patients of pain, as they have a subjective belief of coping with the pain, which acts as a placebo.

Härkäpä, 1991)
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ocial support is important in patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. A longitudinal study of one year

o investigate the effect of social support on post-traumatic stress in HIV shows a decline in stress symptoms, and

mprove quality of life in patients.

Question 2

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the nations worldwide. The burden it has bought on the

onomy, as well as the healthcare system of the country, is unbearable. The response from the people at stage 3

d stage 6 would be different from each other. Stage 3 will involves the authority, as in this pandemic case, the

thorities have allowed the doctors to decide for the patient who deserves treatment and who does not.

Response 1:

tage 3: In this stage, as the authorities have allowed the healthcare worker to decide about treatment, the one

udgment which comes from is that the safe young who are healthy as compared to the old fellows. People will

bound to follow what has implemented by the authorities. As this level moral thinking is based on individual

ight and justice, so people will act selfish and try to get treatment for themselves rather than thinking who

eserve to be safe or what is ethically right.

tage 6:

At this stage, people will think universally to save everyone or at least follow law and justice.

Response 2:

tage 3: People at this stage will not react at all. They will say whatever doctor is doing is right, as, at this stage,

he values are internalized, and social norms are to be fellow. SO they will move following society.
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tage 6:

At this stage, people will raise voice against the law and authorities, that everyone deserves treatment.

Response 3:

tage 3:

Authorities have decided that it’s up to the doctor who will receive treatment so the doctor can be biased in

roviding treatment to their families. They can show that their family deserves therapy by changing the medical

ata. People will try to build good relation with doctors so that they can access the health system when necessary

tage 6:

eople at this stage can go to legislative bodies and complaint to higher healthcare authorities to fight against

uman rights and justice. But this is difficult, as at this stage of pandemic legislative bodies are also helpless.

Response 4:

tage 3:

eople will accept the statement passed by the healthcare system and law, and follow footprints

tage 6:

eople will not accept it and try to talk to doctors and healthcare authorities to provide treatment to everyone, and

ot put down a ventilator of one old patient to save a young one.

Limitation of the Kohlberg Theory

In this theory, moral reasoning will not lead to moral action. People at stage 6 will care, show

empathy, to others, but they have limited access to reach to that ethical behavior. However, at the step, six

people have a goal to protect human rights. But the Kohlberg theory doesn’t explain the way to reach that
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moral behavior. Like he described in his opinion, the stealing of the drug by the man. This can be viewed by

two sides. Ethically, the pharmacist should not sell him drugs at higher prices; similarly, in this example, the

government should not allow the doctors who get treatment and who don’t. But the Kohlberg theory fails to

explain the pandemic situation. As the number of resources at the healthcare system is restricted, so it is

challenging to show moral behavior or to decide who should get treatment and who should not?

No cross-cultural application of theory

This theory cannot be applied to all cultures. It will show variation across the culture. The moral

level will be developed differently in different cultures. For example, hierarchical culture people will show

greater dependency on authority laws than the egalitarian cultures. If we apply it to coronavirus pandemic,

then people at stage 6 will show respect for moral values, but again they have moral reasoning but no ethical

behavior. In practice, t is difficult to stand for human rights in the state of the pandemic.

Biased sampling

Conforming to Gilligan, the Kohlberg theory was based on man morality; there was no woman present

in the study. The man moral is based on law and justice, while a woman will show care of compassion.

(Gilligan, 1977). This indicates that the sample is biased.

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References

1. American Psychiatric Press INC (DC). (2000). Dsm-Iv-Tr: a diagnostic and statistical manual of

mental disorders. The United States.

2.  Folkman, S.; Lazarus, R. S. (1991). “coping and emotion”. Stress and coping: An anthology.

Columbia University Press.

3. Freud, S., & Strachey, J. (2003). Some points of agreement between the mental lives of savages

and neurotics. Place of publication not identified: Routledge.

4. FenicheL, O. T. T. O. (2016). Psychoanalytic Theory Of Neurosis. Place of publication not

identified: Taylor & Francis.

5. Gilligan, C. (1977). In a different voice: Women’s conceptions of self and of morality. Harvard

Educational Review, 47(4), 481-517

6. Härkäpä, K. (1991). Relationships of Psychological Distress and Health Locus of Control Beliefs

with the Use of Cognitive and Behavioral Coping Strategies in Low Back Pain Patients. The Clinical

Journal of Pain, 7(4), 275–282. doi: 10.1097/00002508-199112000-00005

7. Longabough, R. & Morgenstern, J.(1999). Cognitive-Behavioral Coping-Skills Therapy for

Alcohol Dependence, Alcohol Research Health, 23(2): 78–85.

8. Pietrzak, R. H., Harpaz-Rotem, I., & Southwick, S. M. (2011). Cognitive-behavioral coping

strategies associated with combat-related PTSD in treatment-seeking OEF–OIF Veterans. Psychiatry

Research, 189(2), 251–258. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2011.07.019

9. Rzezsutak, M., Oniszczenko, W., & Burkacka., E.F.(2017). Social support, stress coping

strategies, resilience and post-traumatic growth in a Polish sample of HIV-infected individuals: results

of a 1-year longitudinal study, Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 40, pages942–954

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10. Sanchez-Craig, B. M. (1976). Cognitive and behavioral coping strategies in the reappraisal of

stressful social situations. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 23(1), 7–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-

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