MECHANISM DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE

Repression is an unconscious mechanism employed by the ego to keep

During the Oedipus complex, aggressive thoughts about the same sex
Repression disturbing or threatening thoughts from becoming conscious.
parents are repressed.
It is simply forgetting something bad

Denial involves blocking external events from awareness. If some situation

Smokers may refuse to admit to themselves that smoking is bad for their
Denial is just too much to handle, the person just refuses to experience it.
health.
It is simply refusing to accept the truth or reality of a fact or experience
You might hate someone, but your superego tells you that such hatred is
This involves individuals attributing their own unacceptable thoughts,
Projection unacceptable. You can solve the problem by believing that they hate you.
feelings and motives to another person.
e.g. outfit
This is a movement back in psychological time when one is faced with A child may begin to suck their thumb again or wet the bed when they
Regression stress. It’s reverting back to a childlike emotional state in which need to spend some time in the hospital.
your unconscious fears, anxieties, and general "angst" reappear. Another, road rage you see when drivers are stuck in traffic.
The diversion or deflection of instinctual drives, usually sexual ones, into
non-instinctual channels. Psychoanalytic theory holds that the energy
invested in sexual impulses can be shifted to the pursuit of more Sport is an example of putting our emotions (e.g. aggression) into
Sublimation
acceptable and even socially valuable achievements, such as artistic or something constructive.
scientific endeavors. More realistically, sublimation occurs when people
transform their conflicted emotions into productive outlets.
Let's say that you secretly harbor lustful feelings toward someone you
Reaction should probably stay away from. You don't want to admit to these
Expressing the opposite of your inner feelings in your outward behavior.
Formation feelings, so you instead express the very opposite of those feelings. This
object of your lust now becomes the object of your bitter hatred.
Let’s say you lose your temper in front of people you want to like and
The substitution of a safe and reasonable explanation for the true (but respect you. Now, to help make yourself feel better, you mentally attribute
Rationalization
threatening) cause of behavior. your outburst to a situation outside your control, and twist things so that
you can blame someone else for provoking you.
Satisfying an impulse (e.g. aggression) with a substitute object. You
transfer your original feelings that would get you in trouble (usually anger) Someone who is frustrated by his or her boss at work may go home and
Displacement
away from the person who is the target of your rage to a more hapless and kick the dog.
harmless victim.

Rather than confront the intense distress and rejection you feel after your
roommate suddenly decides to move out, you conduct a detailed financial
Intellectualization You think away an emotion or reaction that you don't enjoy feeling.
analysis of how much you can afford to spend now that you're on your
own.