Crazy Joe's Psych Notes

What are defense mechanisms? Defense mechanisms are the unconscious psychological processes that people develop to relieve anxiety. What are the most common defense mechanisms? Among questionable forms of coping are the defense mechanism described by Freud. These are unconscious psychological processes, mental of symbolic, developed to relieve anxiety. They include the following: Common Defense Mechanisms (12 of 25) Repression: (The Primary Mechanism): The person tries to banish offending desires from conscious thought to the point of being totally unaware of the original desires. (Keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious) Ex. A traumatized soldier has no recollection of the details of a close brush with death. Rationalization: The person attempts to deal with a stressful situation by claiming that the stressor was of minimal importance and may even have had beneficial effects. (Creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior) Ex. a student who cheats on a