Ego Defenses Flashcards by Ahmed Alkhoufi

What is the unconscious mind?

Contains material that the person is not aware of, and cannot intentionally bring into awareness

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What is the conscious mind?

Contains material that the person is actively aware of, and can discuss verbally

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What is the preconscious?

Contains material that the person is not currently thinking about, but can bring to awareness as needed (e.g. phone number)

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What is the structural theory of personality?

Id
Ego
Super ego

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Id, ego, or superego: present at birth

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Id, ego, or superego: source of all psychic energy

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Id, ego, or superego: emerges after birth, but is not the last to develop

Ego

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Id, ego, or superego: last to develop

Superego

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Id, ego, or superego: fully Unconscious

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Id, ego, or superego: partly conscious, partly unconscious

Ego

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Id, ego, or superego: Develops be internalizing parenta and societal teaching about right and wrong

Superego

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Id, ego, or superego: punishes that self for misbehavior via guilt and shame

Super ego

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Id, ego, or superego: governed by the pleasure principle

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Id, ego, or superego: Operates on the reality principle

Ego

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Id, ego, or superego: Negotiates between the personalitiy’s desires and drives and the outside world

Ego

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Id, ego, or superego: requires defense mechanisms to manage anxiety

Ego

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What is the purpose of defenses mechanisms?

Used by the ego to manage anxiety, resulting from conflicts between the id and reality or id and superego

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Are defense mechanism carried out consciously or unconsciously?

Unconsciously

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How do defense mechanisms work?

Ignore or distory reality in some way that protect the individual. Can be adaptive or maladaptive

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What is regression?

Reverting to an earlier stage of development under stress in order to avoid the anxiety or difficulty involved in the more mature stage

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What is denial?

Failing to acknowledge some part of external reality that is obvious to others

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What is displacement?

Taking an impulse or emotions that is directed at an unacceptable target and instead directing it at someone or something else

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What is the humor defense mechanism?

Involves explicitly expressing feelings without feeling personal discomfort or making others uncomfortable

Is humor a mature or immature defense mechanism?

Mature

True or false: the humor defense mechanism usually involves an element of truth or of self-awareness

True

What is intellectualization?

Engaging in excessively abstract thinking in order to avoid painful or upsetting feelings; thinking about feelings rather than experiencing them

What is passive-aggression?

Indirectly expressing aggression through passive or masochistic means; expressing aggression via NOT acting

What is projection?

Taking one's own unacceptable impulses or feelings and attributing them to someone else

What is rationalization?

Stating a logically plausible and socially acceptable (but inaccurate_ explaination for a behavior driven by emotion

What is reaction formation?

When an unconscious feeling that causes anxiety is transformed such that the conscious feeling is the exact opposite. The conscious feeling is the exact opposite. The conscious feeling is typically extreme and rigid, hence, the concept of "the lady doth protest too much".

What is repression?

When anxiety or guilt-producing impulse, feeling, or memory is kept out of consciousness

What is splitting?

Viewing self and others as either all good or all bad;may abruptly switch from one to the other

What is sublimation?

A special form of displacement, where an unacceptable impulse is redirected into some socially or culturally worthy purpose or activity

What is isolation (of affect)?

Separating the thoughts from the feelings associated with an experience, then keeping the feelings unconscious

True or false: the person is aware of a situation or event, but doesn't not feel the emotions associated with the event

True

What is suppression?

Conscious or partially conscious postponement of addressing a conscious conflict or impulse

True or false: suppression is considered a mature defense mechanism

True

Name the defense mechanism: a previously potty-trained 4 yo that starts having frequent accidents when a younger sibling is born

Regression

Name the defense mechanism: a person who just receive their fourth drunk-driving conviction insisting that they do not have a drinking problem

Denial

Name the defense mechanism: getting extremely angry at one's boss, saying nothing to the boss, and coming home and kicking the dog, who had done nothing wrong

Displacement

Name the defense mechanism: Following a diagnosis of terminal cancer, a patient displays no emotion, but instead discusses the Kubler-Ross stages of grieving and the current literature on their validity

Intellectualization

Name the defense mechanism: noticing that a spark has landed on the clothing of someone you are angry with, but not telling them and saying that you did not want to interrupt them while they were speaking

Passive-Aggression

Name the defense mechanism: stating that you did not invite a friend to the party, because you knew they were overwhelmed with social invitations and already too busy, when the real reason was you were angry at them for not inviting you to their last party

Rationalization

Name the defense mechanism: a person with a h/o adultery and scual indiscretions may be the most outspoken critic of the "decline in morals today" and demand that divorce laws be tightened

Reaction formation

Name the defense mechanism: A pt is seeing a new provider for the first time, and states that she is the only person who has ever truly understood them, but then when the provider is late for the next visit because of an emergency, she starts yelling about the providers lack of professionalism and never come back

Spiliting

Name the defense mechanism: when overwhelmed with stress, deciding not to think about the need to quit smoking, and the health risks involved (and then actually working on smoking cessation once the acute crises has passed)

Suppression

Is splitting a mature or immature defense mechanism?

Immature

What personality disorder is characterized by splitting?

Borderline PD

Is sublimation a mature or immature defense?

Mature

Is suppression a mature or immature defense mechanism?

Mature

What is the acting out defense? Mature or immature?

Expressing unacceptable feelings and thoughts through actions Immature

What is the dissociation defense? Mature or immature?

Temporary, drastic changes in personality, memory, consciousness, or motor behavior to avoid emotional stress Immature

What is the Denial defense? Mature or immature?

Avoiding awareness of some painful reality | Immature

What are the four mature defenses?

Altruism Humor Sublimation Suppression "Mature adults wear a SASH"

What is the altruism defense? Mature or immature?

Alleviating guilty feelings by unsolicited generosity toward others mature

What is the identification defense? Mature or immature?

Modeling behavior after another person who is more powerful | Immature

What is the fixation defense? Mature or immature?

partially remaining at a more childish level of development | Immature