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The ego and the mechanisms of defence

Article in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · June 2001

DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-1614.2001.01067.x

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Book reconsidered
The ego and the mechanisms of defence
Anna Freud, 1938
New York: International Universities Press, 1938
Ron Spielman
Sydney, Australia
‘She is a lioness, who is the daughter of a lion’.
(French proverb)
O.H.D. ‘Bill’ Blomfield concludes his 1991 paper on
Anna Freud’s life and work with a reference to the above
French proverb. It is embedded in a story drawn from
a clinical vignette of Anna Freud’s where she tells of a
7-year-old boy patient, troubled with castration anxiety.
She writes ‘When I was seeing [this boy], at a time when
he was very engaged with his lion story, my father
walked through the waiting room which he and I shared,
and the little boy nodded to me and then said, in refer-
ence to my father, “also a sort of a lion”’ [1].
It would be good to be able to contribute a ‘revisiting’
of Anna Freud’s earliest major contribution to psycho-
analysis without having Freud-père stalking through it –
but it would be impossible. Anna Freud’s work on the
defence mechanisms is itself a direct descendant of
Sigmund Freud’s own major ground-breaking work on
conceptualising the origins and function of the ego.
What a challenge to live as the daughter of a lionised
father – and even have a child patient say so. We can
only wonder – as many have – what the effect of being
Sigmund Freud’s daughter would have had on Anna
Freud in regard to her becoming and being a prominent
psychoanalyst in her own right.
If we are to be concrete about the French proverb, we
will be content to accept the genetic transmission of
leonine qualities as a biological given. But proverbs
being what they are – and psychoanalysis being what it
is – requires us to consider whether having to live as the
daughter of a lion in itself obliges one to develop lion
qualities of one’s own, if one is to survive in a jungle of
fearsome intellects.
Any reader interested in aspects of Anna Freud’s biog-
raphy will get a warm and respectful account from
Blomfield’s paper in the International Review of Psycho-
analysis [2]. A more detailed, extensive and critical (as
in evaluative) account of her life can be obtained from
Elizabeth Young-Bruehl’s definitive biography [3].
The ego and the mechanisms of defence has been
extensively cited in psychoanalytic literature – one kind
of modern-day measure of a work’s influence. It has
been the subject of several panels [4–6] at meetings of
the American Psychoanalytic Association and it has
indeed even been previously ‘revisited’ some 30 years
after its original publication by Anna Freud herself,
together with Joseph Sandler [1].
The ego and the mechanisms of defence is divided into
four parts. The first and by far the largest part addresses
the issue of the ego as the watchdog over the instinctual
urges. A description of the analytic method as a tech-
nique of studying ‘the psychic institutions’ (id, ego and
superego) is offered, but the major focus here, as the
book’s title suggests, is the nature and operation of the
ego itself.
The term ‘psychic institutions’ is used freely and –
understandably for the times – appears to take for granted
that these ‘institutions’ actually exist. There have been
many arguments mounted more recently (e.g. Schafer,
[7]) against the idea of such ‘institutions’ and cautions
against reification of them.
The second, third and fourth parts of the book address
specific forms of defence mechanisms: denial, restric-
tion of the ego (inhibitions), identification with the
aggressor, altruism and defences in puberty against the
specific problems of that developmental stage. (See
Appendix for a fuller list of defence mechanisms men-
tioned throughout the volume.)
It must be remembered, too, that this small volume
was first published in the mid 1930s, first in German and
then in English. It is very readable and indeed quite
chatty, in that Anna Freud uses the technique of writing
‘we’ do this, ‘we’ think that, etc., etc. Psychoanalytic
theory and practice were still in their relative infancy and
the golden years of Sigmund Freud’s own productive life
were about to end. One of Sigmund Freud’s many con-
tributions had been to discover the importance of uncon-
scious mental phenomena in influencing behaviour,
famously declaring ‘the ego is not master in its own
house’ [8].
Ironically, Anna Freud commences her book in a
somewhat defensive manner. She feels the need to
defend her focus on the ego itself against a potential
charge of superficiality: that only the study of the id is a
true depth psychology.
In chapter 1 she argues for the ego as the seat of
observation. We can only become aware of id activities
when they are out of harmony with the requirements of
the ego:
All the defensive measures of the ego against the id
are carried out silently and invisibly. The most that
we can ever do is to reconstruct them in retrospect:
we can never really witness them in operation. . . . . The
ego knows nothing of it; we are aware of it only
subsequently, when it becomes apparent that some-
thing is missing.
 BOOK RECONSIDERED
The point she is emphasizing is that the ego is unaware
of the unconscious defensive mechanisms in action:
repression and reaction-formation, for example, are
completed processes by the time any evidence of their
having taken place becomes apparent. This raises impor-
tant questions about the nature of consciousness and
whether unconscious awareness is or is not a contra-
diction in terms.
If the ego is indeed unaware of the threatened irruption
into consciousness of, say, an id impulse, at what level
of awareness is a decision made within the mind to
prevent such an irruption by utilizing a defence mecha-
nism of any kind? Doesn’t such a decision require a
mental agency making a choice of some form or
another?
A modern-day reading of the nature of consciousness
[9] holds that all mental processes take place in the realm
of the unconscious mind and that the outcomes of all
such processes only become conscious by a proprioceptive-
like property of the mind observing itself.
Chapter 2 is an extended argument about the applica-
tion of analytic technique to the study of the psychic
institutions. Its real purpose is to claim legitimacy for
analysis of the ego itself – alongside the need to analyse
the id. Toward the end of this chapter she writes:
Analytic theory has ceased to hold that the concept of
the ego is identical with that of the system of perceptual
consciousness; that is to say, we have realized that large
portions of the ego institutions are themselves uncon-
scious and require the help of analysis to become
conscious.
Here she is coming toward what is to become Solm’s
position, albeit – as it is – one based firmly in Sigmund
Freud’s speculations about the nature of consciousness.
In developing this argument, she commences chapter 3
with a disarming disclaimer, but goes on to make an
assertion which has become a famous dictum:
The tedious and detailed theoretical discussions con-
tained in the last chapter may for practical purposes be
summed up in a few simple sentences. It is the task of
the analyst to bring into consciousness that which is
unconscious, no matter to which psychic institution it
belongs. He directs his attention equally and objectively
to the unconscious elements in all three institutions. To
put it another way, when he sets about the work of
enlightenment, [the analyst] takes his stand at a point
equidistant from the id, the ego and the superego.
(italics added).
This dictum has become the central tenet of the impor-
tant psychoanalytic principle of technical neutrality: that
431
the analyst does not take sides in any of the conflicts
which are the subject of analysis, and as far as is
humanly possible seeks to refrain from intruding his or
her own values onto the analysand.
This third chapter also addresses the question of trying
to classify precisely what the ego is defending against.
Anna Freud distinguishes (i) defence against instincts;
(ii) defence against affects; and (iii) what she calls ‘per-
manent defence phenomena’.
The defences against the instinctual drives in the id are
seen as resistances to the analysis and the analyst; in that
the objective of the analysis is to permit an adequate
understanding of these threatening id instincts, and any
ego activity preventing this (albeit in the relative safety
of the consulting room) is interpreted as resistance.
Defences against affects are seen as defences against a
whole range of painful or unacceptable feelings associ-
ated with the sexual and aggressive drives.
The section on the so-called ‘permanent defence phe-
nomena’ has what nowadays feels to be a quaint quality
about it. She likens these phenomena to what Wilhelm
Reich called the ‘armor-plating of character’.
Bodily attitudes such as stiffness and rigidity, personal
peculiarities such as a fixed smile, contemptuous, ironi-
cal and arrogant behaviour – all these are residues of
very vigorous defensive processes in the past which
have become dissociated from their original situations
(conflicts with instincts or affects) and have developed
into permanent character traits, the “armor-plating of
character” (Charakterpanzerung, as Reich calls it).
When in analysis we succeed in tracing these residues to
their historical source, they recover their mobility and
cease to block by their fixation our access to the
defensive operations upon which the ego is at the
moment actively engaged.
If only it were so easy. Years of psychoanalytic strug-
gle with the complexities of personality disorder (as
opposed to the myth of discrete neuroses) have found
that object relations theories offer more in understanding
the operation of ‘character defences’ and personality
disorder than does instinct theory.
In chapter 4, she develops Sigmund Freud’s early
attempts to correlate specific defence mechanisms with
particular neurotic disorders, such as repression with hys-
teria and reaction formation and undoing with obsessive–
compulsive disorder. She also speculates on chronological
questions as to the appearance of different defence mecha-
nisms at different stages of development.
Interestingly, in this chapter, there is a direct refer-
ence to the ‘English school’ (the Kleinians of even that
432 BOOK RECONSIDERED
early a time), where there is a stark difference in the
conceptualization of the role of introjection and projec-
tion. Anna Freud clearly states the difference as:
According to the theory of the English school of analy-
sis, introjection and projection, which to our view
should be assigned to the period after the ego has been
differentiated from the outside world, are the very
processes by which the structure of the ego is developed
and but for which differentiation would never have
taken place. These differences of opinion bring home to
us the fact that the chronology of psychic processes is
still one of the most obscure fields of analytic theory.
It would be good to be able to assert that this is no
longer the case, that such differences are no longer a
matter of metapsychological opinion, but have been
happily resolved by empirical research. While the new
field of enquiry represented by modern infant develop-
mental research is endeavouring to answer such ques-
tions, what actually takes place in the minds of young
preverbal infants will remain elusive for some time.
In chapter 5, Anna Freud seeks to identify different
sources of anxiety and perceived danger as the motives
of defence. She claims the ego’s fear of the superego to
be the major source of neurosis in adults – but says that
objective fear of the parents’ prohibitions are the cause
of infantile neurosis. One would have thought that the
superego of an adult had its origins in the real and
fantasized experiences of the parents, yet she appears to
go to some lengths to differentiate these as different
motives (pp. 55–58) for the employment of defences,
even while acknowledging that they have a source in
common (p.60). This is somewhat confusing.
The remainder of the volume deals with a small group
of specific defence mechanisms, both in theory and with
many illustrative clinical vignettes.
A definitively Anna Freudian contribution to the psycho-
analytic literature, however, is the notion of Identifica-
tion with the Aggressor, introduced in chapter 9. This is
most recognizable in gross form in what has latterly been
called ‘The Patty Hearst Syndrome’, wherein the abducted
heiress identified with the objectives and values of her
captors.
Anna Freud’s clinical vignettes deal more with chil-
dren facing fear of aggression or criticism. She claims
the criticism is internalized and the offence and the guilt
are externalized. She goes on to make an interesting
assertion about the development of morality:
Vehement indignation at someone else’s wrongdoing is
the precursor of and substitute for guilty feelings on its
own account. Its indignation increases automatically
when the perception of its own guilt is imminent. This
stage in the development of the superego is a kind of
preliminary phase of morality. True morality begins
when the internalized criticism, now embodied in the
standard exacted by the superego, coincides with the
ego’s perception of its own fault. From that moment, the
severity of the superego is turned inward instead of
outward and the subject becomes less intolerant of other
people. But, when once it has reached this stage in its
development, the ego has to endure the more acute
unpleasure occasioned by self-criticism and the sense of
guilt. [italics added].
This notion, Identification with the Aggressor, has
assumed tragic poignancy in current times, with our
growing recognition that children who have suffered
actual physical abuse are only too likely to, in adulthood,
become abusers in their own right. The empirical obser-
vation of this all-too-common reality can be understood
as both the Anna Freudian defence of identification with
the aggressor and as the enactment of an internalized
object-relationship as conceptualized by object relations
theory.
The only hope of breaking this tragic cycle lies in the
above quoted paragraph from Anna Freud; in the devel-
opment of a sense of morality by internalizing the pro-
jected vehemence directed toward another. In object
relations theory, the task is conceptualized as taking
back the projected abused-self. Not much difference
really (at least in this instance).
Chapter 10 deals with another defence which Anna
Freud appears to have some particular interest in: that
which she calls ‘a form of altruism’ or ‘altruistic sur-
render’ (a term she attributes to Edward Bibring). Here
there is an extended clinical case vignette and a lengthy
account of Cyrano de Bergerac’s exploits. If it were
made clear that what is being described in both cases is
‘pseudo-altruism’ one would have no argument with the
interpretations she offers. But one is left with the uncom-
fortable feeling that Anna Freud leaves it as a form of
genuine altruistic behaviour. One would think that suc-
cessful sublimation would be required to achieve the
lofty goals of genuine altruism, but in neither of her
examples does this appear to be the case.
As Anna Freud is identified as one of the earliest child
analysts, mention needs to be made of chapters 11 and
12 as contributions to the specific problems faced by
adolescents. She identifies adolescence (of course) as a
critical developmental stage and addresses specifically
the problems posed by the hormonal and psychological
challenges of puberty. As we know, not all adolescents
come through these critical challenges unscathed.
 BOOK RECONSIDERED
Ego psychology and its vicissitudes
Nowadays, the theoretical world of psychoanalysis –
at least in the English-speaking world – is subdivided
into three major realms: ego psychology; object relations
theory; and self psychology. The first is associated pri-
marily with the writings of Anna Freud, the second with
those of Melanie Klein and the third with Heinz Kohut.
Each of these psychoanalysts claim that their own work
is firmly based on the foundations of Sigmund Freud’s
theories and to have been developed from them.
The (mainly) American adherence to the so-called
‘classical Freudian’ traditions in psychoanalytic treat-
ment have their link to Sigmund Freud strongly through
the work of Anna Freud. Heinz Hartmann, Ernst Kris
and Rudolph Lowenstein were the authors responsible
for the American development of this position in the
immediate post-Freudian era, while Leo Rangell and Jacob
Arlow followed closely behind. Many American ana-
lysts have since been major contributors.
Apparent American disillusionment with the limitations
of ego psychology is manifest in two developments: that
led by Heinz Kohut with his awareness that many preg-
enital issues remain relatively unaddressed by ego psy-
chology; and that resulting from a growing number of
American analysts being influenced by exposure to the
writings of and lectures and supervisions of (as well as
analysis by) a number of prominent British analysts who
represent the British object relations school of thinking.
In Britain, the analytic world was strongly affected by
the conflicts between the Anna Freudian followers and
the Melanie Kleinian disciples. This conflict spawned
the now respected and productive Independent Group in
British psychoanalysis [10,11].
Nevertheless, in this environment, the Anna Freudian
school of thinking has continued to develop and is now
represented by the contemporary Freudian group. Of
its major contributors Joseph Sandler and Anne-Marie
Sandler are probably the more prominent. Peter Fonagy
and Mark Solms are each making major current contri-
butions, the former in the interface between psycho-
analysis and attachment theory and the latter in the
interface between psychoanalysis and neuroscience.
Perhaps this reflects Sigmund Freud’s earlier grounding
in the biological realms – in contrast to Klein’s heavy
emphasis on the realm of phantasy.
Subsequent directions of research into the mechanisms
of defence
‘There is probably no concept more central to psycho-
analytic theory, therapy, or research than that of
defence.’ [12].
433
Fortunately, then, unlike many other aspects of psy-
choanalytic theory, the notion of discrete defence mech-
anisms does lend itself to more or less objective research.
In fact, it is likely – as Schlesinger asserts – that among
the many concepts which comprise psychodynamic
theory, the defence mechanisms themselves have been
subjected to more efforts at disciplined empirical research
than any other.
The definition, classification and identification of
defence mechanisms comprises an important part of the
development of one of the earliest efforts in conducting
outcome research in psychoanalysis on other than a
single case study basis. The Hampstead Index [13] was
established as a repository of carefully codified case
material relating to child psychoanalytic treatment in
order to systematically study the psychoanalytic treat-
ment process and its outcomes. The defence mechanisms
employed by each patient were explicitly recorded and
any changes in combinations of such mechanisms were
noted.
In the USA, a single case study approach was adopted
by Weiss [14], who kept detailed records of an extensive
analysis and had the records rated by trained assessors
for any discernible changes in the utilization of discrete
defence mechanisms.
One of the many researchers in this field who will be
very familiar to psychiatrists is George Vaillant who has
conducted original research into the operation of defence
mechanisms [15]. Vaillant has classified the defences
into three major categories: immature, intermediate and
mature. He correlated recognizable clusters of defence
mechanisms with levels of more or less successful
adaptation to life by longitudinally following cohorts of
subjects.
Further developments utilizing similar techniques
include the work of Holzman and Perry [16] who rated
video-taped interviews for the presence or absence of
22 defences categorized as immature, borderline or
neurotic; while Perry and Cooper [17] have focused
specifically on the defences utilized by borderline per-
sonality disordered patients. This has involved the
broadening of the range of defences under examination
to include those more identified with object relations
theory.
Of interest to many readers of this journal will be that
two Australian researchers have also established a posi-
tion for themselves in the literature on this topic. Gavin
Andrews and Christopher Pollock have published work
on the role of defence mechanisms in anxiety disorders
(e.g [18,19]).
A technique utilized by these researchers has been to
tape record and transcribe interviews with both patients
and non-clinical samples (especially twin cohorts) and to
 434 BOOK RECONSIDERED

have these transcripts assessed for evidence of the sub- Projective Identification
jects’ use of discrete defence mechanisms by independ- Denigration or devaluation
ent raters. Idealization
Omnipotence
Conclusion
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