Defense Mechanisms

1. Defense Mechanism
Dr. Manju N. D

2. Introduction:
• The term ‘ Defence Mechanism’ was first used
by sigmund freud in his paper “The Neuro-
Psychoses of defence” (1894).
• Anna (1937) developed the ideas given by
Freud and elaborated them, adding 5 other
own .
• In his psychoanalytical theory, Freud explained
a defence mechanism is a tactic developed by
ego to protect against anxiety .

3. • A defence mechanism is the act or technique of
coping mechanisms that reduce anxiety
generated by threats from unacceptable or
negative impulses. The process is usually
unconscious .
• For Example:- if you are faced with a
particularly unpleasant task our mind may
choose to forget your responsibility in order to
avoid the dreaded assignment .
• In addition to forgetting, other defence
mechanism include rationalization, denial,
repression, rejection etc .

4. • Defense mechanisms (or coping styles) are
automatic psychological processes that
protect the individual against anxiety and
from the awareness of internal or external
dangers or stressors.
• Individuals are often unaware of these
processes as they operate.
• Defense mechanisms mediate the individual’s
reaction to emotional conflicts and to internal
and external stressors.

5. • Definition:- In Freudian Psychoanalytical theory,
Defence Mechanism are psychological strategies
brought into play by the unconscious mind to
manipulate, deny or distort reality in order to
defend against feelings of anxiety &
unacceptable impulses to maintain one’s self
schema .
• Defence Mechanism, in Psychoanalytical theory
, any of a group mental processes that enables
the mid to reach compromise solutions to
conflicts that is unable to resolve .

6. • According to Morgan C. T Defense mechanism is
defined as a reaction to frustration that defined
people against anxiety and serves to disguise
their motives, so that they deceive themselves
about their real motives and goals.
• James Drever – Defense mechanism are defined
as voluntary or unconscious measures adopted
by an individual to protect himself against the
painful effect associated with some highly
disagree able situation, physical or mental, of
frequent occurrence.

7. • White and Gilliland (1975) stated that the term
mechanisms of defense refers to the various
automatic, involuntary, and unconsciously instituted
psychological activities by which the human being
attempts to exclude unacceptable urges or impulses
from awareness.
• According to American Psychiatric Association
(1994), “defense mechanisms are patterns of
feelings, thoughts, or behaviors that are relatively
involuntary. They arise in response to perceptions of
psychic danger or conflict, to unexpected change in
the internal or external environment, or in response
to cognitive dissonance.”

8. Characteristics of Adjustment mechanism
• Adjustment helps us to keep balance between
ours needs and the capacity to meet these
needs.
• Adjustment implies changes in our thinking and
way to the demands of the situation
• It gives us ability and strength to desirable
changes in the state of our environment
• Adjustment is phsycho-sociological as well as
psychological
• It is multidimensional
• Adjustment learn us happiness and contentment.

9. Characteristics of well Adjusted person
• Free from physical ailment.
• Psychological comfort. No psychological diseases or
depression, anxiety
• Social acceptance
• Self understanding about assets & limitation
• Self respect
• Balanced level of aspiration
• Strong will power
• Healthy attitude and interest
• Emotionally controlled
• Intellectually developed

10. • Physically adjusted
• Awareness of one’s own strengths and
limitation
• Flexibility of his behavior
• Satisfaction of the basic needs
• Does not process critical or fault- finding
attitude
• Capable of struggling with odd circumstances
• Realistic perception of the world
• Feeling at home with his surroundings
• An adequate philosophy of life

11. Types of Defense Mechanism:
Mainly there are three types of mechanisms.
1. Aggressive mechanism
2. Escape mechanism
3. Adjustment Mechanism

12. I. Aggressive Mechanism:
• In the aggressive mechanisms the individual
shows aggression on object or an individual or on
the barrier which comes in the way of his
adjustment.
• Aggression is typical adjustment mechanism
used as an attempt to hurt or destroy the source
of frustration.

13. 1. Displacement: Displacement is the shifting of
actions from a desired target to a substitute
target when there is some reason why the first
target is not permitted or not available.
• Where possible the second target will
resemble the original target in some way.
• It occurs when the Id wants to do something of
which the Super ego 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 to a more acceptable object.

14. • Displacements are often quite satisfactory and
workable mechanisms for releasing energy more
safely.
Examples:
• A man wins the lottery. He turns to the person next to
him and gives the person a big hug.
• A teacher who is scolded by head master may shown
his anger upon innocent students in the classroom.
• An officer who has been insulted by his wife may
express his anger on his subordinates in the office.
• A child who has been scolded by his parents displaces
his anger by beating his doll or kicking the pets etc..

15. • Self Blame: sometimes individual is not able to
take any aggressive step against person in
authority, who is the source of frustration.
• In such cases individual aggressively attributes
frustration to himself.
• He criticizes himself.
• Such intropunitive reactions do protect the
individual from expressing dangerously toward
others, but may lead to depression.

16. 3. Free Floating anger: when it is not possible for
an individual to reach his goals, then he
expresses his anger on any one whom he may
come across.
• When an individual is not aware of the nature of
obstacle / barrier, then an individual exhibits
free floating anger an any individual under that
circumstance.

17. II. Escape Mechanism:
• Is a mental process which enables a person to
avoid acknowledging unpleasant or threatening
aspects of reality.
• Every individual uses certain defense mechanism
of protective devices to escape from the
conflicting situation. Hence they are called
escape mechanisms.

18. • 4. Repression :- (Dhamana)
• This was the first defense mechanism that
Freud discovered & the most important one.
• It is an unconscious mechanism employed by
the ego to keep disturbing or threatening
thoughts becoming conscious .
• It is the withdrawal from consciousness of an
unwanted idea, affect or desire by pushing it
down or repressing it , into the unconscious
part of the mind .
• It can be defined as Motivated Forgetting .

19. • Example:-
• Hysterical Amnesia , in which the victim has
performed or witnessed dome disturbing act
& then completely forgotten the act itself &
the circumstances surrounding it .
• Repression is caused due to forces active
within ourselves .
• We try to forget what makes us feel inferior ,
ashamed , guilty & anxious .

20. 5. Regression (Hinchalane):- it means going
backward reverting to childish, primitive ways
of behaving, inappropriate to the age and
maturity of the individual when faced with an
unmanageable situation.
• It is a device to escape a stress situation by
reverting to infantile or earlier modes of
behaviour.
• When someone is under a lot of stress, they
return to behavior from an earlier stage of
development. Also known as back journey.

21. • Example:-
• A lady regressed into adolescent starts to walk, talk
or dress like as her younger self.
• When a person is confronted to some loss may be
back journey to a stage which had been more
pleasant & successful in his lifetime.
• The adult who has been frustrated fulfilling his
needs may return to more primitive modes of
behaviour. He may cry like a child and have temper
tantrums. He may attack his problems like a child in
a simple, emotional and primitive manner. The old
man who always talks of his youth, shows the
mechanism of regression.

22. 6. Day Dreaming: day dreaming is a kind of
withdrawal or escape from reality when one
begins to day dream without understanding the
real problems in life.
• It is a wishful attempt by some one who lacks the
will to face life squarely.
• It affords temporary vicarious gratification.
• It is most common among adolescents who
experience the hangover of a movie they had
witnessed.
• They would imagine themselves to be a hero,
conquering enemies and winning admiration, one
might imagine that he is a renowned cricket
player, or a famous dancer etc.

23. 7. Projection:-
• Is the misattribution of a person’s undesired
thoughts, feelings or impulses onto another
person who doesn’t have thoughts, feelings or
thoughts .
• Projection occurs when an individual threatened
by his own angry feelings accuses another of
harboring hostile thoughts .
• People deal with unacceptable impulses by
acting as if other people have them .

24. Example:-
• The students who failed in an examination puts
the blame on teacher for his failure.
• One who has been defeated in tennis match
might find fault with referee.
• The student who has not answered well in the
examination projects his failure to answer on
question paper or pen.
• spouse cheats on wife and says that she is also a
cheater .
• Projective technique is used by an individual to
safeguard his self image.

25. • Rationalization: (Taarkikate) This most commonly used
defense mechanism to save one’s self esteem. It is a
method of explaining to others as well to ourselves , our
incompetence. An individual invents excuses for his failure.
It helps him to justify his behaviour.
• When something happens that we find difficult to accept,
then we will make up a logical reason why it has happened.
• When a person does something of which the moral super
ego disapproves, then the ego seeks to defend itself by
adding reasons that make the action acceptable to the
super ego.
• Thus we are able to do something that is outside our values
and get away with it without feeling too guilty.
• The most common example is the sour grapes reaction. In
which the fox which is unable to reach a cluster of grapes
consoles by saying that all the grapes are sour.

26. • Examples:
• A parent punishes a child and says that it is for the
child's 'own good'.
• If I had better teachers, I would have gotten higher
grades.
• One who is corrupt rationalizes by saying everyone is
corrupt and hence it is not at all an offence.
• One who copied in the examination rationalizes by
saying that copying is not bad as everyone does it.
• A student who has prepared well for the competitive
exam but failed in the examination declare that
success in exam may not lead to success in life.
• failure to qualify UGC test, one might say, was a
blessing as there are lot of unemployed UGC
Holders.

27. 8. Reaction Formation: (Pratikriye rchane)
Expressing emotions that are the exactly
opposite of what you feel.
• hide anger/hate with kindness.
• Teasing/bothering someone you like.
• It is converting the dangerous or unacceptable
thoughts, feelings or impulses into their
opposites.
• This is a point where a person goes beyond
denial & behaves in the opposite way to which
he or she thinks or feel .
• It is also called Reversal Formation .

28. • Reaction Formation occurs when a person
feels an urge to do or say something and then
actually does or says something that is
effectively the opposite of what they really
want. It also appears as a defense against a
feared social punishment.
• A common pattern in Reaction Formation is
for the person to show ‘excessive behavior’.
• In defense against the threatening impulse,
express the opposite impulse.

29. • Examples:
• A person who is angry with a colleague
actually ends up being particularly courteous
and friendly towards them.
• a woman, who is very angry with her boss and
want to quit instead may be overly kind and
generous towards her boss .
• Someone frightens you so you act super nice.
• The boy frightened by graveyard whistles
happily while passing through the graveyard in
order to hide his fear.

30. III. Adjustment Mechanism:
• Adjustment mechanisms helps in the process of one’s self
and the environment. Sometimes the situation demands
the adaptation of adjustment mechanisms to maintain the
equilibrium.
9. Compensation:- It is a process of psychologically
counterbalancing perceived weakness by emphasizing
strength in other areas . It may be positive or negative .
This defense mechanism helps to reinforce a person’s self
esteem & self image.
• Ex:- when a person says, “I may not know how to cook but
i can sure do the dishes”. or “OK, maybe I’ll never be able
to pass the class, but I’ll have fun and that teacher will be
sorry”
• There are three types of compensation
• 1. Direct compensation 2. Indirect compensation and 3.
substitute compensation.

31. • Direct compensation: when we try to make up the
deficiency in the same area by putting more effort ,
by taking guidance from people, tutors , teachers ,
guides etc.
Ex:- A physically unattractive adolescent becomes
an attractive dancer .
• Indirect compensation: When we try to make up
the deficiency of an area into some other area .
Extreme form of indirect compensation in found in
parents .
Ex:- If one is not good in sports , they can overcome
in studies .
• A teacher who is not able to get a rank in his career
finds satisfaction in his students getting a first rank.

32. • Substitute compensation: when an individual
is weak in one area, he attempts to become
outstanding in another area.
• Ex: an academically weak student may
compensate by becoming an outstanding
athlete.
• The boy who is weak in English, may
compensate his loss in mathematics.
• Pandit Puttaraja Gavoy could make up his loss
of sight in music.

33. 10 Sublimation:- Freud believed that the greatest
achievements in civilization were due to the
effective sublimation of our sexual and aggressive
urges that are sourced in the Id and then channeled
by the Ego as directed by the Super ego.
• Satisfying an impulse (Ex-aggression) with a
substitute object in a socially acceptable way .
• This is similar to displacement but occurs when we
manage to displace our emotions into a constructive
rather than destructive manner .
• Refocusing such unacceptable or harmful impulses
into productive use helps a person to channel the
energy that otherwise would be lost or used in a
manner might cause a person more anxiety .

34. Example :-
• Sport is an example of putting our emotions into
something constructive .
• A angry man does pushups to work off his
temper.

35. 11. Identification mechanism:- A focus on negative or
feared traits i.e. if you are afraid of someone , you
can practically conquer that fear by becoming more
like them .
• It can be identified as a mental mechanism beyond
conscious awareness through which an individual
tries to make himself like someone else .
Example:-
• An extreme example is Stockholm Syndrome whose
hostage identifies with the terrorists .
• Patty Hearst & the Symbionse Libertian Army.
• Employees of a reputed company identify
themselves with the organization to which they
belong.

36. Role of teachers defense mechanism:
• Students that use primitive defenses are said
to be at risk, hence there is need for special
psychological attention to be given to such
students in order to help them redirect their
focus so that they can make progress in their
academics.
• Students who are used to the application of
positive defenses like identification should be
encouraged to continue using them in order
to enable them achieve better academic
success.

37. • A psychological programme that would enable
student teachers who are fund of using
negative mechanisms should be considered
very important for such students as to enable
them benefit maximally from education.
• Generally, students who have formed the
habit of using primitive defense mechanisms
should be considered for special psychological
needs to help them develop positive
personality profile and obtain better success
in their academics.

38. • Defense mechanism helps to reduce the anxiety &
help an individual to adjust better . But too much
of everything is bad . Same is true with defence
mechanism .
• Children should be guarded against too much use
of defense mechanism . Because once they start
using them it will became a habit with them &
later on they will be using it unconsciously .

39. • Defense mechanisms do not usually get rid of
the problem.
• Even more extreme forms can be adaptive
when briefly activated under severe stress.
• Defenses change over time.
• Helping in adopting mature forms of
psychological improves mental health & it can
reduce reliance on mind-altering substances.