Classifications of Defense Mechanisms

1. Withdrawal Reactions - Or Flight Reactions, wherein the individual escapes from his/her problems or frustrations

Fantasy/Daydreaming - The subject transforms his failure into something successful in his imagination.

Regression Retreating back to an earlier and less mature level of developmental stage.

Reaction Formation Believing the opposite or hiding a motive by giving strong expression to the opposite.

Repression The most basic defense mechanism. It is termed as motivated forgetting. (Unconscious forgetting)

Denial Involves negating or blocking external events from ones awareness.

Suppression Conscious forgetfulness of painful and unpleasant thoughts and feelings.

1. Aggressive Reactions - Or Fight Reactions, wherein the subject attacks or confronts the source of his frustrations.

Displacement It refers to the redirection of negative impulses or feelings from an original object to a safer, less threatening or neutral substitute.

Identification Taking into your own personality characteristics of someone else.

Projection The tendency to attribute ones traits to other people.

Introjection Attributing to oneself the good qualities of another.

3. Compromise Reactions -They are defense reactions employed by lowering ones goals though not totally giving up the nature of the original goal.

Rationalization The distortion of the facts to justify ones conduct by offering socially accepted reasons in place of real facts. This may be manifested by:

a. Sour-grape mechanism an excuse for failure.

b. Sweet-lemon mechanism One pretends to like what he really dislikes.

Intellectualization Attempting gain detachment from a stressful situation by dealing with it in an intellectual term.

Compensation Disguising or covering up the presence of an undesirable trait by emphasizing a desirable one.

Two Types of Compensation:

1. Direct Compensation trying to achieve success in the persons very field of failure.

2. Indirect Compensation Trying to gain success in other unrelated field of failure. Sublimation This is the replacement of unacceptable activities or goals into socially acceptable ones.