CAS PS 251 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Euphemism, Funny People, Friendly Fire
9 Aug 2018
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Defense Mechanisms
Definition:
o Techniques to keep certain thoughts/impulses hidden;
techniques to cope with anxiety
Anna Freud developed a comprehensive list of defense mechanisms
o She never married; bc she never got over her edipus conflict,
never got over her attraction to her father, and therefore
always worked with himLOL
o She outlined major def mechanisms
o Denial Mechanisms
Denial: refusal to recognize reality
not our fault
Common & effective in short term; may be useful
in stressful circumstances where you need to
immediately cope with something; Temporary
tactic
More common with children & less effective as
you get older; as ego matures & understand
objective reality, harder to use this technique
o Repression
Repression: banishing the past from present awareness
Freud was not clear on distinction between denial
and repression
Only a certain number of things can be repressed
before they start causing anxiety
Longer lasting, further reaching, more complex form of
denial
Things that are too traumatic to deal with, so
could be helpful, but in the end it would cause you
anxiety
Could have partial repression—remember some,
and repress other part of situation
What gets repressed will depend on the
development on one’s Superego—through how
you were brought up: environment, culture,
parents teaching you what good and bad is; so
people will repress different things, and in
different ways
o Reaction formation: Instigation of the opposite of forbidden
thoughts, feelings, and impulses that one has
Process of pushing away threatening impulses or
material by over emphasizing the opposite
The reaction is out of proportion
Ex: if you babysit someone who you hate bc theyre soo
annoying, this reaction formation would kick in and you
will pour love and attention to the child, push away
thoughts of hate
Ex: like the homophobe thing
o Common with strong sources anxiety
Real life examples of reaction formation
Congressman Robert Bauman, a notable opponent
of gay rights in any form, was well known for
trying to deny all public benefits to gay people
Arrested in a gay bar soliciting a 16-year-
old boy→ arrested in a gay bar soliciting a
16-year-old boy
Eliot Spitzer, governor of New York, referred to as
Mr. Clean
Engaged in the services of high-priced
prostitutes → Engaged in the services of
high-priced prostitutes
o Projection: attributing to someone else a thought or impulse
that is feared in oneself
Protect self from unwanted impulses
Its not me, its you
I’m not feeling those things, you are
Taking our own unacceptable feelings and ascribing
them to other people.
Ex: it’s not that I made a stupid mistake, it’s that
you being to critical
(instead of feeling inadequate, our true feeling,
we suffer with the feeling that everyone is critical
of us, a way to get away from feeling in adequate
or vulnerable )
Lets say: meet somebody, you don’t like them- parents
bring you up as a person who is open to everyone &
Document Summary
Definition: techniques to keep certain thoughts/impulses hidden; techniques to cope with anxiety. Common & effective in short term; may be useful in stressful circumstances where you need to immediately cope with something; temporary tactic. More common with children & less effective as you get older; as ego matures & understand objective reality, harder to use this technique: repression. Repression: banishing the past from present awareness. Freud was not clear on distinction between denial and repression. Only a certain number of things can be repressed before they start causing anxiety. Longer lasting, further reaching, more complex form of denial. Things that are too traumatic to deal with, so could be helpful, but in the end it would cause you anxiety. Could have partial repression remember some, and repress other part of situation. Process of pushing away threatening impulses or material by over emphasizing the opposite.
