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Defense Mechanisms In Search

Psychology Explained (+
Examples) Recommended
By Saul Mcleod, PhD Updated on November 5, 2023

Reviewed by Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc Humanistic Ap-

proach in Psy-
chology (huma…
On This Page: ism):
Read Definition
More

& Examples
1. Denial
Freud's Theory
2. Repression
of Personality:
3. Projection Id, Ego, and…
4. Displacement Superego
Read More

5. Regression

6. Sublimation Learning Theory

of Attachment
7. Rationalization
Read More
8. Reaction Formation

9. Introjection

10. Identification with the Aggressor ADVERTISEMENT

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Sigmund Freud (1894, 1896) noted a number of ego defenses which he refers to
throughout his written works. His daughter Anna Freud (1936) developed these
ideas and elaborated on them, adding ten of her own. Many psychoanalysts have
also added further types of ego defenses.

Defense mechanisms are psychological strategies that are unconsciously used to

protect a person from anxiety arising from unacceptable thoughts or feelings.
According to Freudian theory, defense mechanismss involve a distortion of
relaity in wome way so that we are better able to cope with a situation.

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10 Defense Mechanisms: What Are

They And How They Help Us Cope
We use defense mechanisms to protect ourselves from feelings of anxiety or
guilt, which arise because we feel threatened, or because our id or superego
becomes too demanding.

Defense mechanisms operate at an unconscious level and help ward off

unpleasant feelings (i.e., anxiety) or make good things feel better for the
individual.

Ego-defense mechanisms are natural and normal. When they get out of
proportion (i.e., used with frequency), neuroses develop, such as anxiety states,
phobias, obsessions, or hysteria.

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Here are a few common defense mechanisms: There are a large number of
defense mechanisms; the main ones are summarized below.

Denial
Denial is a defense mechanism proposed by Anna Freud which involves a refusal
to accept reality, thus blocking external events from awareness.

If a situation is just too much to handle, the person may respond by refusing to
perceive it or by denying that it exist.

As you might imagine, this is a primitive and dangerous defense – no one

disregards reality and gets away with it for long! It can operate by itself or, more
commonly, in combination with other, more subtle mechanisms that support it.

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What is an example of denial?

Many people use denial in their everyday lives to avoid dealing with painful
feelings or areas of their life they don’t wish to admit.

For example, a husband may refuse to recognize obvious signs of his wife’s
infidelity. A student may refuse to recognise their obvious lack of preparedness
for an exam!

Repression
Repression is an unconscious defense mechanism employed by the ego to keep
disturbing or threatening thoughts from becoming conscious.

Repression, which Anna Freud also called “motivated forgetting,” is just that: not
being able to recall a threatening situation, person, or event. Thoughts that are
often repressed are those that would result in feelings of guilt from the superego.

This is not a very successful defense in the long term since it involves forcing
disturbing wishes, ideas or memories into the unconscious, where, although
hidden, they will create anxiety.

Repressed memories may appear through subconscious means and in altered

forms, such as dreams or slips of the tongue (“Freudian slips“).

What is an example of repression?

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For example, in the oedipus complex, aggressive thoughts about the same sex
parents are repressed and pushed down into the unconscious.

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Projection
Projection is a psychological defense mechanism proposed by Anna Freud in
which an individual attributes unwanted thoughts, feelings and motives onto
another person.

Projection, which Anna Freud also called displacement outward, is almost the
complete opposite of turning against the self. It involves the tendency to see your
own unacceptable desires in other people.

In other words, the desires are still there, but they”re not your desires anymore.

What is an example of projection?

Thoughts most commonly projected onto another are the ones that would cause
guilt such as aggressive and sexual fantasies or thoughts.

For instance, you might hate someone, but your superego tells you that such
hatred is unacceptable. You can ‘solve’ the problem by believing that they hate
you.

Displacement
Displacement is the redirection of an impulse (usually aggression) onto a
powerless substitute target. The target can be a person or an object that can serve
as a symbolic substitute.

Displacement occurs when the Id wants to do something which the Superego

does not permit. The Ego thus finds some other way of releasing the psychic
energy of the Id. Thus there is a transfer of energy from a repressed object-
cathexis to a more acceptable object.

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··· Recommended

··· Erik Erikson's

Stages of Psy-
chosocial Deve…
opment

Stages of Attach-
ment Identified
by John Bowlb…
And Schaffer &
Turning against the self is a very special form of displacement, where the Emerson (1964)
person becomes their own substitute target.
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It is normally used in reference to hatred, anger, and aggression, rather than
more positive impulses, and it is the Freudian explanation for many of our
feelings of inferiority, guilt, and depression.

The idea that depression is often the result of the anger we refuse to acknowledge
is accepted by many people, Freudians and non-Freudians alike.

What is an example of displacement?

Someone who feels uncomfortable with their sexual desire for a real person may
substitute a fetish.

Someone who is frustrated by his or her superiors may go home and kick the
dog, beat up a family member, or engage in cross-burnings.

Regression
Regression is a defense mechanism proposed by Anna Freud whereby the the
ego reverts to an earlier stage of development usually in response to stressful
situations.

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Regression functions as a form of retreat, enabling a person to psychologically go

back in time to a period when the person felt safer.

What is an example of regression?

When we are troubled or frightened, our behaviors often become more childish
or primitive.

A child may begin to suck their thumb again or wet the bed when they need to
spend some time in the hospital. Teenagers may giggle uncontrollably when
introduced into a social situation involving the opposite sex.

Sublimation
Sublimation is similar to displacement, but takes place when we manage to
displace our unacceptable emotions into behaviors which are constructive and
socially acceptable, rather than destructive activities. Sublimation is one of Anna
Freud’s original defense mechanisms.

Sublimation for Freud was the cornerstone of civilized life, as arts and science
are all sublimated sexuality. (NB. this is a value-laden concept, based on the
aspirations of European society at the end of the 1800 century).

What is an example of sublimation?

Many great artists and musicians have had unhappy lives and have used the
medium of art of music to express themselves. Sport is another example of
putting our emotions (e.g., aggression) into something constructive.

For example, fixation at the oral stage of development may later lead to seeking
oral pleasure as an adult through sucking one’s thumb, pen or cigarette. Also,
fixation during the anal stage may cause a person to sublimate their desire to ADVERTISEMENT
handle faeces with an enjoyment of pottery.

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Rationalization
Rationalization is a defense mechanism proposed by Anna Freud involving a
cognitive distortion of “the facts” to make an event or an impulse less
threatening. We do it often enough on a fairly conscious level when we provide
ourselves with excuses.

But for many people, with sensitive egos, making excuses comes so easy that they
never are truly aware of it. In other words, many of us are quite prepared to
believe our lies.

What is an example of rationalization?

When a person finds a situation difficult to accept, they will make up a logical
reason why it has happened. For example, a person may explain a natural
disaster as “God’s will”.

Reaction Formation
Reaction formation, which Anna Freud called “believing the opposite,” is a
psychological defense mechanism in which a person goes beyond denial and
behaves in the opposite way to which he or she thinks or feels.

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Conscious behaviors are adopted to overcompensate for the anxiety a person

feels regarding their socially unacceptable unconscious thoughts or emotions.

Usually, a reaction formation is marked by exaggerated behavior, such as

showiness and compulsiveness.

By using the reaction formation, the id is satisfied while keeping the ego in
ignorance of the true motives.

Therapists often observe reaction formation in patients who claim to strongly

believe in something and become angry at everyone who disagrees.

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What is an example of reaction formation?

Freud claimed that men who are prejudiced against homosexuals are making a
defense against their own homosexual feelings by adopting a harsh anti-
homosexual attitude which helps convince them of their heterosexuality.

Another example of reaction formation includes the dutiful daughter who loves
her mother is reacting to her Oedipus hatred of her mother.

Introjection
Introjection, sometimes called identification, involves taking into your own
personality characteristics of someone else, because doing so solves some
emotional difficulty.

Introjection is very important to Freudian theory as the mechanism by which we

develop our superegos.

What is an example of introjection?

A child who is left alone frequently, may in some way try to become “mom” in
order to lessen his or her fears. You can sometimes catch them telling their dolls
or animals not to be afraid. And we find the older child or teenager imitating his
or her favorite star, musician, or sports hero in an effort to establish an identity.

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Identification With The Aggressor

Identification with the aggressor is a defense mechanism proposed by Sandor
Ferenczi and later developed by Anna Freud.

It involves the victim adopting the behavior of a person who is more powerful
and hostile towards them.

By internalizing the behavior of the aggressor the “victim” hopes to avoid abuse,
as the aggressor may begin to feel an emotional connection with the victim which
leads to feelings of empathy.

What is an example of identification with the aggressor?

Identification with the aggressor is a version of introjection that focuses on the

adoption, not of general or positive traits, but of negative or feared traits. If you
are afraid of someone, you can partially conquer that fear by becoming more like
them.

An extreme example is Stockholm Syndrome, where hostages establish an

emotional bond with their captor(s) and take on their behaviors.

Patty Hearst was abused by her captors, yet she joined their Symbionese
Liberation Army and even took part in one of their bank robberies. At her trial,
she was acquitted because she was a victim suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

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References
Ferenczi, S. (1933). Confusion of tongues between adults and the child (pp. 156-
67).

Freud, A. (1937). The Ego and the mechanisms of defense, London: Hogarth
Press and Institute of Psycho-Analysis.

Freud, S. (1894). The neuro-psychoses of defence. SE, 3: 41-61.

Freud, S. (1896). Further remarks on the neuro-psychoses of defense. SE, 3: 157-

185.

Freud, S. (1933). New introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. London:

Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho-Analysis. Pp. xi + 240.

Paulhus, D. L., Fridhandler, B., & Hayes, S. (1997). Psychological defense:

Contemporary theory and research. In R. Hogan, J. A. Johnson, & S. R. Briggs
(Eds.), Handbook of personality psychology (pp. 543-579).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-012134645-4/50023-8

Further Reading
Name the Defense Mechanism Activity

BPS Article on Repression

Exploring Ferenczi’s Concept of Identification with the Aggressor: Its Role in

Trauma, Everyday Life, and the Therapeutic Relationship

Cramer, P. (2015). Understanding defense mechanisms. Psychodynamic

Psychiatry, 43(4), 523-552.

Freudian Defense Mechanisms and Empirical Findings in Modern Social

Psychology: Reaction Formation, Projection, Displacement, Undoing,
Isolation, Sublimation, and Denial

Defense Mechanisms Summary Table

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Reviewer Author

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has
previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

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