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Displacement (psychology) In psychology, displacement (German: Verschiebung, lit. 'shift, move') is an unconscious defence mechanism whereby the mind substitutes either a new aim or a new object for things felt in their original form to be dangerous or unacceptable. Example:
Psychoanalysis. In psychoanalytic theory, a defence mechanism is an unconscious psychological operation that functions to protect a person from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and outer stressors. [1][2][3] According to this theory, healthy people normally use different defence mechanisms throughout life.
Psychological projection is a defence mechanism of alterity concerning "inside" content mistaken to be coming from the "outside" Other. [1] It forms the basis of empathy by the projection of personal experiences to understand someone else's subjective world. [1] In its malignant forms, it is a defense mechanism in which the ego defends itself ...
Projective identification is a term introduced by Melanie Klein and then widely adopted in psychoanalytic psychotherapy.Projective identification may be used as a type of defense, a means of communicating, a primitive form of relationship, or a route to psychological change; [1] used for ridding the self of unwanted parts or for controlling the other's body and mind.
Sublimation (psychology) In psychology, sublimation is a mature type of defense mechanism, in which socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are transformed into socially acceptable actions or behavior, possibly resulting in a long-term conversion of the initial impulse. Sigmund Freud believed that sublimation was a sign of maturity and ...
Reaction formation. In psychoanalytic theory, reaction formation (German: Reaktionsbildung) is a defense mechanism in which emotions, desires and impulses that are anxiety -producing or unacceptable to the ego are mastered by exaggeration of the directly opposing tendency. [1]
Regression (psychology) In psychoanalytic theory, regression is a defense mechanism involving the reversion of the ego to an earlier stage of psychosexual development, as a reaction to an overwhelming external problem or internal conflict. [1]
Repression is a key concept of psychoanalysis, where it is understood as a defense mechanism that "ensures that what is unacceptable to the conscious mind, and would if recalled arouse anxiety, is prevented from entering into it." [1] According to psychoanalytic theory, repression plays a major role in many mental illnesses, and in the psyche ...