Ego defenses

Blocking out painful or anxiety-inducing events or feelings.

Discharging pent-up feelings on people less dangerous than those who initially aroused the emotion.

Handling emotional conflicts, or internal or external stressors, by a temporary alteration of consciousness or identity

Symbolic satifaction of wishes through nonrational thought

Symbolic satisfaction of wishes through nonrational thought

Unconscious assumption of similarity between oneself and another

separating an emotion from an idea or thought because the emotional reaction is too painful to be acknowledged

Acceptance of another's values and opinions as one's own

Attributing ones's own unacceptable feelings and thoughts to others

Falsification of experience through the construction of logical or socially approved explanations of behavior.

Unacceptable feelings disguised by repression of the real feeling and by reinforcement of the opposite feeling

Reverting to an earlier stage of development

Unconsciously keeping unacceptable feelings out of awareness

Consciously keeping unacceptable feelings and thoughts out of awareness

Attempting to take back an unconscious thought or behavior that is unacceptable or hurtful

A manager tells an employee he may have to fire him. On the way home, the employee shops for a new car.

A student who has received a low grade on a term paper blows up at his grilfriend when she asks about his grade.

A woman has amnesia for the events surrounding a fatal automobile accident in which she was the speeding driver.

A student struggling through graduate school thinks about a prestigious, high-paying job she wants.

After hospitalization for minor surgery, a girl decides to become a nurse.

A man learns from his doctor that he has cancer. He studies the physiology and treatment of cancer without experiencing any emotion.

A woman who prefers a simple lifestyle assumes the materialistic, prestige-oriented values of her husband.

A man who is quite critical of others thinks that people are joking about his apperance

A man cheats on his income tax return and tells himself it's alright because everyone does it.

A woman who dislikes her mother-in-law is always very nice to her.

A man exposes his genitalia to women he sees in public places.

A student taking an examination upset about an argument with her boyfriend but deliberately puts it out of her mind so she can finish the test.

A young woman realizes that she has just insult her boyfriend and spends the rests of the evening complimenting him on his looks and hist athletic ability.