Defence Mechanisms Are

Repression: Involving exclusion of a painful or conflictual thought, impulse, or memory from awareness.

Example: Mr. T does not recall hitting his wife when she was pregnant.

Suppression: It is the intentional exclusion of material from consciousness. At times, it may lead to subsequent repression.

Example: A young man at work finds that he is thinking so much about his date evening that is interfering with his work. He decides to put it out of his mind until he leaves the office for the day.

Identification: Process by which a person tries to become like someone he admires by taking on thoughts and mannerisms (with of that person).

Example: A 15-year-old girl's hair is styled similarly to her young English teacher whom she admires.

Introjections: In introjections, the values and characteristics of significant persons are incorporated into one’s Personality.

Example: A women who like to live in a simple may interject in her the sophisticated way of living like her husband.

Displacement: Shift of emotion from a person or object toward which it was originally directed to another usually neutral or less dangerous person or object.

Example: A 4-year-old boy is angry because his mother for drawing has just punished him on his bedroom walls. He begins to “war” with his soldier's toys and has them battle and fight with each other.

Sublimation: Sublimation is a positive mechanism in which the primitive impulses are transferred or directed to a socially useful goal. Unacceptable desires find an acceptable outlet.

Example: A man who has strong sexual drives may utilize that energy in writing poetry or painting. This way he contributes to the art.

Reaction Formation: This is an important device for the development of character. In this process, unacceptable real feelings are repressed, and acceptable opposite feelings are expressed.

Example: A woman who dislikes her mother-in-low hides her feelings by being always nice to her.

Rationalization: Offering a socially acceptable or logical explanation to justify or make acceptable unacceptable impulses, feelings, behaviors, and motives.

Example: Reba fails an examination and complains that the lectures were not well organized or presented.

Compensation: Process by which a person makes up for a deficiency in his image himself by strongly emphasizing some other feature that he regards as an asset.