Chapter 3 Ego Defense Mechanisms

Ego Defense Mechanisms

methods of attempting to protect the self and cope with basic drives or emotionally painful

thoughts, feelings or eventsoperates at the unconscious level of awareness,

people are not aware of what they are doing and often need help to see the reality


Compensation

Overachievement in one area to offset real or

perceived deficiencies in another area

Conversion

Expression of an emotional conflict

through the development of a physical symptom,

usually sensorimotor in

nature

Denial

Failure to acknowledge an

unbearable condition; failure

to admit the reality of a situation, or how one enables the problem to

continue


Displacement

Ventilation of intense feelings toward persons less threatening

than the one who aroused those

feelings

Dissociation

Dealing with emotional conflict

by a temporary alteration in

consciousness or identity

Fixation

Immobilization of a portion of the

personality resulting from unsuccessful

completion of tasks in a

developmental stage


Identification

Modeling actions and opinions of

influential others while searching for identity, or aspiring

to reach a personal, social or occupational goal

Intellectualization

Separation of the emotions of a

painful event or situation from the

facts involve; acknowledging the

facts but not the emotions

Introjection

Accepting another person’s attitudes, beliefs, and values

as one’s own


Projection

Unconscious blaming of

unacceptable inclinations or thoughts

on an external object

Rationalization

Excusing own behavior to avoid guilt,

responsibility, conflict,

anxiety, or loss of self-

respect

Reaction Formation

Acting the opposite of what one

thinks or feels

Regression

Moving back to a previous development

al stage in order to feel safe or have needs met


Repression

Excluding emotionally painful

or anxiety-provoking

thoughts and feelings from

conscious awareness

Resistance

Overt or covert antagonism toward

remembering or processing anxiety-

producing information

Sublimation

Substituting a socially acceptable

activity for an impulse that is unacceptable


Substitution

Replacing the desired

gratification with one that is more readily available

Suppression

Conscious exclusion of

unacceptable thoughts and feelings from

conscious awareness

Undoing

Exhibiting acceptable

behavior to make up for or negate

unacceptable behavior

INTERPERSONAL THEORY

• Harry Stack Sullivan (1892-1949)– American psychiatrist, believed that personality

dynamics and disorders are caused primarily by social forces and interpersonal situations

– viewed loneliness as the most painful human experience

– emphasized that early relationship with the significant other as crucial for personality development and believed that healthy relationships were necessary for a healthy personality


• Anxiety – is an interpersonal phenomenon that is transmitted empathically from the significant other to the child, and also by perceived degrees of approval or disapproval felt by the child – all behavior is aimed at avoiding anxiety and

threats to self esteem


• ways to avoid anxiety: – good me – focusing on positive attributes– bad me – hiding the negative aspects of ourselves

from others and even from ourselves– not me – represents things that we find

objectionable that we cannot even imagine them being part of us

Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)

• a hands on system in which therapist actively guide in challenged maladaptive behaviors and distorted views – focus is on the here and now with the emphasis on

the patients life and relationship at home, at work, and in the social realm

– therapist becomes participant observer – the premise of this work is that if people are aware

of their dysfunctional pattern and unrealistic expectations, they can modify them

BEHAVIORAL THEORIES

• Ivan Pavlov (1927)– is famous for investigating classical conditioning in

which involuntary behavior or reflexes could be conditioned to respond to neutral stimuli

BEHAVIORAL THEORIES

• John B. Watson (1930)– rejected psychoanalysis and was seeking an objective

therapy that did not focus on unconscious motivation– he contended that personality traits and responses,

adaptive and maladaptive, were learned– conditioned Little Albert, a 9-month-old to be

terrified at the sight of white fur or hair– concluded that through behavioral techniques

anyone could be trained to be anything, from a beggar to a merchant

BEHAVIORAL THEORIES

• B.F. Skinner (1938)– conducted research on operant condition in which

voluntary behaviors are learned through consequences of reinforcement

– positive reinforcement – a consequence that causes the behavior to occur more frequently

– negative reinforcement – punishment, a consequence that causes the behavior to occur less frequently

BEHAVIORAL THEORIES

• Behavioral Therapy/ Behavior Modification– uses basic tenets from each of the behaviorists– attempts to correct or eliminate maladaptive

behaviors or responses by rewarding or reinforcing adaptive behavior

BEHAVIORAL THEORIES

• Systematic Desensitization– based on classical conditioning– learned responses can be reversed by first

promoting relaxation and then gradually facing a particular anxiety-provoking stimulus

– successful in extinguishing PHOBIAS

BEHAVIORAL THEORIES

• Aversion Therapy– based on both classical and operant conditioning

and is used to eradicate unwanted habits by associating unpleasant consequences with them

– ei disulfiram (Antabuse); people who take this medication and then ingest alcohol become extremely ill; with sex offenders who may receive electric shock in response to arousal from child pornography

BEHAVIORAL THEORIES

• Biofeedback– is a technique in which individuals learn to control

physiological responses such as breathing rates, heart rates, BP, brain waves, and skin temperature

– this control is achieved by providing visual and auditory biofeedback of the physiological response and then using relaxation techniques such as slow, deep breathing or meditation

COGNITIVE THEORY

• Aaron T. Beck– develop a cognitive therapy approach with

depressed patients, he became convinced that depressed people generally had standards patterns of negative and self-critical thinking

COGNITIVE THEORY

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)– a commonly used effective and well research

therapeutic tool based on both cognitive and behavioral theory and seeks to modify negative thoughts that lead to dysfunctional emotions and actions

– Goal: first to identify the negative patterns of thought that lead to negative emotions, once identified, they can be replaced with rational thoughts

COGNITIVE THEORY

• ABCs of Irrational Belief – a four-column format to record the precipitating event or situation, the resulting autonomic thought, the proceeding feelings and behaviors, and finally, a challenge to the negative thoughts based on rational evidence and thoughts

Activating Event

Belief Consequences Reframing

Trent has been in counseling for depression. His therapist’s secretary called and canceled this week’s appointment.

My therapist is disgusted with me and wants to avoid me.

Sadness, rejection, and hopelessness. Decides to call off work and return to bed.

There is no evidence to believe that I disgust my therapist. Why would he have rescheduled if he really didn’t want to see me?

COGNITIVE THEORY

– Autonomic thoughts – rapid, unthinking responses based on schemas

– cognitive distortion – irrational because people make false assumptions and misinterpretations

Examples of Cognitive Distortions All or nothing thinking

• Thinking in black and white, reducing complex outcomes into absolutes

• Cheryl got second highest score in the cheerleading competition. She considers herself a loser

Over generalization

• Using a bad outcome as evidence that nothing will ever go right again

• Marty had a traffic accident. She refuses to drive and says “I shouldn’t be allowed on the road”

Examples of Cognitive Distortions Labeling

• A form of generalization where a characteristic or event becomes definitive and results in an overly harsh label for self or others

• Because I failed the advance statistics exam, I am a failure. I might as well give up

Mental Filter

• Focusing on a negative detail or bad event and allowing it to taint everything else

• Ann’s boss evaluated her work as exemplary and gave her a few suggestions for improvement she obsessed about the suggestions and ignored the rest

Examples of Cognitive Distortions Disqualifying the Positive

• Maintaining a negative view by rejecting information that supports a positive view as being irrelevant, inaccurate, or accidental

• I’ve just been offered a job I’ve always wanted. No one else must have applied

Examples of Cognitive Distortions Jumping to Conclusions

• Making a negative interpretation despite the fact that there is little or no supporting evidence

• My fiancé Mike didn’t call me for 3 hours therefore he doesn’t love me

Mind Reading

• inferring negative thoughts, responses, motive of others

• The grocery store clerk was grouchy and barely made eye contact. I must have done something wrong

Examples of Cognitive Distortions Magnification or minimization

• Exaggerating the importance of something or reducing the importance of something

• I’m alone on Saturday night because no one likes me. When other people are alone, it’s because they want to be

Catastrophizing

• An extreme form of magnification in which the very worst is assumed to be a probable outcome

• If I don’t make a good impression on the boss at the company picnic she will fire me

Examples of Cognitive Distortions Emotional Reasoning

• Drawing a conclusion based on an emotional state

• I’m nervous about the exam. I must not be prepared. If I were I would not be afraid

Should and Must Statements

• Rigid self directives that presume an unrealistic amount of control over external events

• My patient is worst today. I should give better care so that she will get better.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

• Jean Piaget (1896-1980)– a Swiss psychologist and researcher– described cognitive development as a dynamic

progression from primitive awareness and simple reflexes to complex thoughts and responses

– according to Piaget, our mental representations of the world, or schemata depend on the cognitive stage we have reached

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Sensorymotor Stage – 0 to 2 years • begins with basic

reflexes and culminates with purposeful movement, spatial abilities, and hand eye coordination

• 9 months, object permanence is achieved, peek-a-boo

Preoperational Stage – 2 to 7 years• children are not

able to think abstractly or generalized qualities in the absence of specific objects but rather think in a concrete fashion

• egocentric thinking • inability to conserve

mass, volume or number

Concrete Operational Stage – 7 to 11 years• logical thought

appears and abstract problem solving is possible

• see a situation from another’s point of view

• conservation is possible

• understand the concept of reversibility

Formal Operational Stage – 11 years to adulthood • conceptual

reasoning commences

THEORY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

• Erik Erikson (1902-1994)– a German born American child psychoanalyst– describe development as occurring in eight

predetermined life stages

HUMANISTIC THEORY

• Carl Rogers (1961)– developed patient-centered psychotherapy – technique that emphasized the role of the patient

in understanding one’s own problems, the role of the therapist is that of facilitator rather than director

HUMANISTIC THEORY

• Abraham Maslow (1970)– known for developing a theory of personality and

motivation based on a hierarchy of needs– when lower level needs are met, higher needs are

able to emerge

HUMANISTIC THEORY

Self-Transcendence

needs:

Self-

Actualization needs

: Becoming every ting

one is capable

of

Esteem needs:

self-esteem

related to

competency, achievemen

t and esteem from

others

Belongingnes

s and Lov

e needs: Affiliations

, affectionate

relationships, love

Safety needs: Securit

y protection, stability, structure

, order

and limits

Physiologic needs: Oxygen,

food, water, sleep, sex

THEORY OF OBJECT RELATIONS

• developed by interpersonal theorist who emphasized past relationships in influencing a person sense of self as well as the nature and quality of relationships in the present

THEORY OF OBJECT RELATIONS

• Margaret Mahler (1895-1985)– Hungarian psychologist who worked with emotional

disturbed children, developed a framework for looking at how an infant goes from complete self absorption with an inability to itself as separate from its mother, to a physically and psychologically differentiated toddler

– Notes that raising healthy children does not require that parents never make mistakes, and that “good enough parenting” will promote successful separation-individuation.

THEORIES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

• Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) – an American psychologist, develop a theory on

how people progressively develop a sense of morality


• Pre-Conventional level– Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment• focus on rules and on listening to authority, people at

this stage believe that obedience is the method to avoid punishment

– Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange• individuals become aware that not everyone thinks the

way that they do, and that rules are seen differently by different people, if they or others decide to break the rules, they are risking punishment


• Conventional Level– Stage 3: Good Interpersonal Relationships• People begin to view rightness or wrongness as related

to motivations, personality, or the goodness or badness of the person, people should not get along and have similar values.

– Stage 4: Maintaining the Social Order• a “rule are rules” mindset• people had begun to adopt a broader view of society


• Post-Conventional Level– Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual Rights• still believe that social order is important, but social

order must be good; has the duty to protect the rights of others

– Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles• actions should create justice for everyone involved; we

are obliged to break unjust law

ETHICS OF CARE THEORY

• Carol Gilligan (1936)– an American psychologists, ethicist, and feminist

who inspired the normative ethics of care theory– suggests that a morality of care should replace

Kohlberg’s “justice view” of morality, which holds that we should do what is right no matter the personal cost or the cost to those we love.

Stages of Moral Development

Stage Goal ActionPre-conventional

Goal is individual survival-selfishness

Caring for self

Conventional Self sacrifice is goodness-responsibility to others

Caring for others

Post-conventional

Principle of nonviolence – do not hurt others or self

Balancing caring for self with caring for others

BIOLOGICAL MODEL

• mental disorders are believed to have physical causes, therefore, mental disorders will respond to physical treatment

• 1950-chlorpromazine (thorazine), widely used for treatment of schizophrenia

• Biological therapy – psychopharmacology– ECT– talk therapy

EXISTENTIAL THEORIES

• believe that behavioral deviations result when a person is out of touch with himself or herself or the environment

Rational Emotive Therapy Albert Ellis

• a cognitive therapy using confrontation of “irrational belief” that prevent the individual from accepting responsibility for self and behavior

• Logotherapy – Viktor E. Frankl– a therapy designed t help individuals assume

personal responsibility– the search for meaning (logos) in life is a central

theme– counselors and therapists who work with clients in

spirituality and grief counseling often use this concepts

• Gestalt therapy – Frederick S. Perls– a therapy focusing on the identification of feelings

in the here and now, which leads to self-acceptance– believed that self-awareness leads to self-

acceptance and responsibility for one’s own thoughts and feelings

– often use to increase client’s self-awareness by writing and reading letters, journaling and other activities designed to put the past to rest and focus on the present

• Reality Therapy – William Glasser– therapeutic focus is need for identity through

responsible behavior– individuals are challenged to examine ways in

which their behavior thwarts their attempts to achieve life goals

– working with persons with delinquent behavior, unsuccessful school performance, and emotional problems who often blame their problems on other people, the system, or society

THANK YOU!

• CHAPTER 3 UNIT TEST• JANUARY 10• 8am-9:15am• 141 items– Multiple choice– Matching type– Identification– Fill in the blanks– enumeration

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Chapter 3 Ego Defense Mechanisms