Individual Differences in Defense Mechanisms

• Freud concerned with DMs at level of human nature

• Later researchers examined individual differences– E.g.,. Which defenses one tends to use– Developmental changes in defense

Individual Differences in Degree of Defensiveness

• Repressor – Sensitizor Concept

• Definition:– Repressor: Avoid conscious experience of

anxiety– Sensitizor: Approach conscious experience of

anxiety

• Variability in normal personality styles

Measurement of RS

• Original RS scale ambiguous in terms of whether or not low anxiety was a result of psychological defenses

• Later scheme used two measures together:– Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS)– Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale

(MCSD)

Measurement of RS

• TMAS – measure of dispositional anxiety– Low = High =

• MCSD - measure of social desirability or defensiveness; tendency to present overly positive image to self (self-deception) and others (impression management). E.g., I never get mad– Low = High =

Measurement of RS

TMAS MCSD

•Repressor Low High

•Low Anxious Low Low

•Defensive Anx.High High

•Sensitizor High Low

Validity of RS measurement

• I. Self-reported anxiety– Classify Ps as repressors/sensitizors– Put in threatening situation– Assess anxiety– Problems?

Validity of RS measurement

• II. Self-reported anxiety and physiological responses– Classify Ps as repressors/sensitizors– Put in threatening situation– Assess anxiety and monitor GSR– Self-report/GSR dissociation

Validity of RS measurement

• III. Childhood memories– Classify Ps as repressors/sensitizors– Ask Ps to recall childhood memories– Prediction– Findings– Mechanisms: Encoding and retrieval effort

(alpha waves for Rs)

Repressors Vs. Sensitizors

•Health Implications

•Advantages/disadvantages of different styles

•Adaptability of defense mechanisms

Research on Unconscious

• Two questions:

– Unconscious content (can we demonstrate existence of unconscious content?)

– Unconscious process (can we be affected by stimuli not consciously perceived?)

Unconscious Content

• Unconscious = material available but not accessible

– Hypermnesia - recall previously inaccessible material

• Clinical; recovered memories

– Problem; paramnesia (false memory)

Unconscious Content

• Hypermnesia– Lab; Erdelyi

• Present stimuli (words, pictures)• Exhaustive recall tx 1• Free associate• Exhaustive recall tx 2• Results tx2 > tx1 (false memory controlled)

Unconscious Content

• Dissociation - nonunitary consciousness (no awareness of material but external evidence for material)– Clinical:

• DID

• Emotion awareness

–Problem: report bias

Unconscious Content

• Dissociation - Lab research

– Hypnosis (Hilgard)

• Suggestion: No experience of pain

• Immerse hand cold water–No pain reported but automatic

writing suggests pain

Unconscious Content

• Dissociation - Lab research– Implicit/Explicit memory divergence

• Explicit memory - conscious, deliberate recall

• Implicit memory - material affects task performance

Implicit-Explicit Memory Experiment

• Demonstrate implicit but no explicit memory

• Present Words Explicit test Implicit test» Hair 0

HA_ _

» Bear BE_ _

• Antegrade amnesiacs• Normal participants (with delay)

Unconscious Content

• Implicit Stereotypes• An implicit stereotype is a stereotype that is

powerful enough to operate without conscious control.

• The more closely associated two concepts are, the easier it is to respond to them as a single unit. So, if young and good are strongly associated, it should be easier to respond faster when you are asked to give the same response

Unconscious Processes

• Perceptions– Semantic Priming

• Prime Target Lexical Decisions• Doctor Nail Faster for related

• Doctor Nurse* target/prime pairs

• Hammer Nail* Related concepts

• Hammer Nurse activated

– Masked primes (not perceived) yield same effect

Unconscious Processes

• Perceptions– Social Priming

• Person perception (inherent ambiguity)• Activated (primed) constructs affect

perceptions• Occurs without awareness

Unconscious Processes• Perceptions

– Social Priming Experiment (Higgins, Srull)

– Study 1 (prime hostility)• Sentence completion: hit cat the his

• 80% (primed hostile) vs. 20%)

– Study 2 (person perception)• ambiguous description (e.g., refuse to donate)

– Primed hostile perceive target more negatively• no awareness; can prime subliminally

Unconscious Processes

• Affective reactions– Zajonc. Mere exposure effect: Familiarity

produces liking• Present stimuli left ear

• Shadow prose right ear

• Prefer exposed stimuli but no recognition

• Occurs with other stimuli (e.g., geometric shapes)

Unconscious Processes

• Affective reactions– Silverman. Psychopathology. Explicit test of

psychoanalytic model– Model:

• Unconscious activate wish > Defense mechanisms > Related pathology if defenses inadequate

– Subliminal presentation of aggressive stimuli increase levels of depressed for clinically depressed

Unconscious Processes

Related Issue: What is the quality of unconscious thought?

Is it superior to conscious thought?

Although controversial, some research (Dijksterhuis) suggests unconscious decisions are better

Unconscious vs. Conscious Thought

• What is conscious thought?– Thinking about something while consciously

attending to it

• What is unconscious thought?– Thinking about something while not attending

to it• Associating, reasoning, weighing, evaluating while

consciously thinking about something else

Dijksterhuis (2006)

• Participants receive information about 4 apartments

• Each apartment is described by 12 aspects (Apt. A is big, Apt. C is in a nice area).

• Information for each apartment is presented for 15 secs.• Three apartments have 5 positive and 7 negative aspects.• One is better: 8 positive and 4 negative.• Participants choose an apartment• 1. Immediately• 2. After thinking about it for three minutes• 3. After being distracted for three minutes

(unconscious thought)

Percentage Choosing Best Apartment

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

condition

immediate

conscious

unconscious

Unconscious Thought

• Always better?– Complex rather than simple– Processing not acquiring (input assumed to be

acquired)– Some failures to replicate