Learning Objectives: At the end of this lecture, you should be able to:
- Define a defense mechanism. Understand when they can be
adaptive and maladaptive.
- Define and recognize the following defense mechanisms:
Denial; Isolation of affect;
Intellectualization; Rationalization;
Sublimation; Projection;
Somatization; Repression;
Suppression; Sublimation;
Introjection; Regression;
Splitting; Acting Out
- Differentiate between some commonly confused defense mechanisms:
intellectualization v. rationalization; repression v. suppression.
Questions for Self-Study:
1. Which defense mechanisms do you think you use most commonly? Which do you think a close friend would think you use most commonly? Which defense mechanisms do you think are most common among medical students studying for an exam? Dissecting a cadaver?
2. Where might defense mechanisms have particular survival value? Where might they be most problematic? Which defense mechanisms strike you as most mature? Which seem the most primitive?
3. Which defense mechanisms do you think are at work in some aspects of popular cultures, such as music, movies, novels, or even politics? Are there such thing as societal or cultural defense mechanisms, such as denial, repression, or splitting?