Defense Mechansims

Question 0

What defense mechanism is this an example of: a nurse who lost a family member in a fire is a volunteer firefighter

Answer 0

Altruism

Question 1

When do defense mechanisms become maladaptive

Answer 1

When they interfere with the functioning, relationships, and orientation to reality

Question 2

Dealing with anxiety by reaching out to others

Answer 2

Altruism

Question 3

Dealing with unacceptable feelings or impulses by unconsciously substituting acceptable forms of expression

Answer 3

Sublimation

Question 4

What defense mechanism is this an example of: a person who has feelings of anger and hostility toward his work supervisor gets rid of those feelings by working out vigorously at the gym during his lunch period

Answer 4

Sublimation

Question 5

Voluntarily denying unpleasant thoughts and feelings

Answer 5

Suppression

Question 6

What defense mechanism is this an example of: a person who has lost his job states he will worry about paying his bill next week

Answer 6

Suppression

Question 7

Putting unacceptable ideas, thoughts, and emotions out of conscious awareness

Answer 7

Repression

Question 8

What defense mechanism is this an example of: a person who has a fear of the dentists drill continually “forgets” his dental appointments

Answer 8

Repression

Question 9

Shifting feelings related to an object, person, or situation to another less threatening object, person, or situation

Answer 9

Displacement

Question 10

What defense mechanism is this an example of: a person who is angry about losing his job destroys his child’s favorite toy

Answer 10

Displacement

Question 11

Overcompensating or demonstrating the opposite behavior of what is felt

Answer 11

Reaction formation

Question 12

What defense mechanism is this an example of: a person who dislikes her sisters daughter offers to babysit so her sister can go out of town

Answer 12

Reaction formation

Question 13

Performing an act to make up for prior behavior

Answer 13

Undoing

Question 14

What defense mechanism is this an example of: an adolescent completes his chores without being prompted after having an argument with his parent

Answer 14

Undoing

Question 15

Creating reasonable and acceptable explanations for unacceptable behavior

Answer 15

Rationalization

Question 16

What defense mechanism is this an example of: a young adult explains he had to drive home from a party after drinking alcohol because he had to feed his dog

Answer 16

Rationalization

Question 17

Temporarily blocking memories and perceptions from consciousness

Answer 17

Dissociation

Question 18

What defense mechanism is this an example of: an adolescent witnesses a shooting and is unable to recall any details from the event

Answer 18

Dissociation

Question 19

Demonstrating an inability to reconcile negative and positive attributes of self or others

Answer 19

Splitting

Question 20

What defense mechanism is this an example of: a client tells a nurse that she is the only one who cares about her, yet the following day, the same client refuses to talk to the nurse

Answer 20

Splitting

Question 21

Blaming other for unacceptable thoughts and feelings

Answer 21

Projection

Question 22

What defense mechanism is this an example of: a young adult blames his substance use disorder on his parents refusal to buy him a new car

Answer 22

Projection

Question 23

Pretending the truth is not reality to manage the anxiety of acknowledging what is real

Answer 23

Denial

Question 24

What defense mechanism is this an example of: a parent who is informed that his son was killed in combat tells everyone he is coming home for the holidays

Answer 24

Denial

Question 25

When does mild anxiety occur

Answer 25

In the normal experience of everyday living

Question 26

Feeling or acting as if one possesses special powers or abilities and is superior to others

Answer 26

Omnipotence

Question 27

Separation of the ideas from the feelings originally associated with them

Answer 27

Isolation of affect

Question 28

Excessive use of abstract thinking or the making of generalizations to control or minimize disturbing feelings

Answer 28

Intellectualization

Question 29

Using actions rather than reflections of feelings during periods of emotional conflict. An example would be a teenager who gets mad at his parents and begins staying out late at night

Answer 29

Acting out

Question 30

Turning to others for help or support (sharing problems with others without implying that someone is responsible for them)

Answer 30

Affiliation

Question 31

Excessive daydreaming as a substitute for human relationships, more effective action, or problem solving

Answer 31

Autistic fantasy

Question 32

Attributing exaggerated negative qualities to self or others

Answer 32

Devaluation

Question 33

Emphasizing the amusing or ironic aspects of the conflict or stressor

Answer 33

Humor

Question 34

Attributing exaggerated positive qualities to others

Answer 34

Idealization

Question 35

Expressing feelings and thoughts directly in a way that is not coercive or manipulating

Answer 35

Self-assertion

Question 36

Reflecting feelings, thoughts, motivation, and behavior and responding to them appropriately

Answer 36

Self-observation