Defense

Mechanism
Elmeida Effendy
Psychiatric Department
Medical Faculty-USU

At each phase of libidinal development,

specific drive component evoke characteristic

ego defenses.

The Developmental of Ego Defense

Born :
Projection
Denial
Introjection

Latent :
Sublimation

Oral :
Displacement
Identification

Anal :
Reaction formation
Isolation
Regression

Phallic :
Intelectualization
Repression
Simbolization

Defenses can be grouped hierarchically

according to relative degree of maturity

associated with them :
1. Narcissistic defenses
2. Immature defenses
3.Neurotic defenses
4. Mature defenses

Narcissistic Defenses

Denial : avoiding the awareness of reality by

negating sensory data

eg : patients with malignant tumor insists she does
not have cancer
Distortion : grossly reshaping external reality to suit
inner needs (including unrealistic megalomania
beliefs, hallucinations, wish-fulfilling delusions) and
using sustained feelings of delusional superiority or
entitlement.
Projection : perceiving and reacting to unacceptable
inner impulses and their derivatives as though they
were outside the self.
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Immature Defenses
Acting out : expressing an unconscious wish or

impulse through action to avoid being conscious of

an accompanying affect. The unconscious fantasy is
lived out impulsively in behavior, thereby gratifying
the impulse, rather than the prohibition against it.
eg : by angry with his friend punch
Blocking : temporarily or transiently inhibiting
thinking. Affects & impulses may also be involved.
Closely resembles repression but differs in that
tension arises, when the impulse, affect or thought
is inhibited
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Hypochondriasis : exaggerating or

overemphasizing an illness for the purpose of

evasion & regression
Introjection: internalizing the qualities of an
object with the goal of closeness to & constant
presence of the object
eg : fail in exam didnt study
Passive-aggressive behavior : expressing

aggression toward others, indirectly through

passivity, masochism & turning against the
self
eg : sorry..I thought you didnt want the
cakeI ate it all
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Regression: attempting to return to an earlier

libidinal phase of functioning to avoid the tension

& conflict evoked at the present level of
development. It reflects the basic tendency to gain
instinctual gratification at a less-developed period.
eg : 7 year old girl resumes bed wetting when
sibling were born
Schizoid fantasy: indulging in autistic retreat to
resolve conflict & to obtain gratification.
Interpersonal intimacy is avoided, & eccentricity
serves to repel others.
eg : man w/ erectile dysfunction daydreams

about orgies party

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Somatization : converting psychic derivatives into

bodily symptoms & tending to react with somatic

manifestations, rather than psychic manifestation
eg : afraid of being bullied at school child

develop stomachache

Neurotic Defenses
Controlling : attempting to manage or regulate

events or objects in the environment to minimize

anxiety & to resolve inner conflicts
eg : Lia wants to pass the exam for the medical
faculty study hard day & night
Displacement : shifting an emotion or drive
cathexis from one idea or object to another that
resembles the original in some aspect or quality

eg : a woman is abandoned by her fiance, she

quickly finds another man about whom she
develops the same feelings
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Externalization : tending to perceive in the

external world & in external objects elements

of ones own personality, including instinctual
impulses,conflicts, moods, attitudes & style of
thinking. Externalization is a more general
term than projection

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Inhibition : consciously limiting or renouncing

some ego functions, alone or in combination,

to evade anxiety arising out of conflict with
instinctual impulses, the superego or
environmental forces or figures
Intellectualization : excessively using
intellectual process to avoid affective
expression
eg : a person who has just been diagnosed with a
terminal illness might focus on learning everything
about the disease in order to avoid distress and
remain distant from the reality of the situation.
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Isolation : splitting or separating an idea from

the affect that accompanies it but is

repressed
. eg : a bank teller appears calm and cool

while frustrating a robbery but afterward is

tearful and tremulous

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Rationalization: offering rational explanations

in attempt to justify attitudes, beliefs, or

behavior that may otherwise be unacceptable
eg : stating that you were fired because you
didn't kiss up the the boss, when the real
reason was your poor performance
Dissociation : temporarily but drastically

modifying a persons character or ones sense

of personal identity to avoid emotional
distress
eg : hysterical conversion
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Reaction formation : transforming an

unacceptable impulse into its opposite

eg : a married woman who is disturbed by
feeling attracted to one of her husband's
friends treats him rudely

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Repression : expelling or with holding from

consciousness an idea or feeling.

Primary repression refers to the curbing of
ideas and feelings before they have attained
consciousness:
eg : forbidden sexual impulse
Secondary repression excludes from
awareness what was experienced at conscious
level.
eg : forgetting sexual abuse from her
childhood due to the trauma and anxiety

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Sexualization :endowing an object or function

with sexual significance that it did not

previously have or possessed to a smaller
degree to ward off anxieties associated with
prohibited impulses

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Mature Defenses
Altruism: using constructive and instinctually

gratifying service to others to undergo a

vicarious experience.
eg : government employee no complaint
Anticipation: realistically anticipating or

planning for future inner discomfort.

eg : planning older life
Asceticism: eliminating the pleasurable

effects of experiences.
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Humor : using comedy to overtly express feelings

and thoughts without personal discomfort or

immobilization and without producing an
unpleasant effects and others.
Sublimation : achieving impulse gratification and
the retention of goals but altering a socially
objectionable aim or object to a socially
acceptable one.
eg : Andy always fight w/ his friends karate
Suppression: consciously or semiconsciously

postponing attention to a conscious impulse or

conflict.
eg : patient
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