AP Psych: Defense Mechanisms

Even a top baseball player will sometimes strike out on an easy pitch. When this happens, his next action may be to throw his bat or kick the water cooler with all his might.

• Displacement
• Sublimation
• Repression
• Projection

Soldiers exposed to traumatic experiences in concentration camps during wartime sometimes had amnesia and were unable to recall any part of their ordeal.

• Regression
• Rationalization
• Intellectualization
• Repression

The mother of an unwanted child may feel guilty about not welcoming her child. As a result, she may try to prove her love by becoming overindulgent and overprotective of the child.

• Projection
• Reaction Formation
• Regression
• Displacement

Mrs. Brown often accuses other women of talking too much and spreading rumors. It is rather obvious to those who know her that she is revealing her own inclinations in that area.

• Projection
• Sublimation
• Intellectualization
• Rationalization

Paul, an aggressive child, had problems in elementary school, as he would frequently fight with other children. Paul found when he entered high school that he could channel this hostility into sports such as football and soccer.

• Displacement
• Reaction Formation
• Projection
• Sublimation

The habitual drinker may insist that he really doesn’t care much for the taste of alcohol but feels that he is obliged to drink with friends “just to be sociable.”

• Sublimation
• Regression
• Intellectualization
• Rationalization

Mrs. James can’t understand why her husband has been so grumpy and irritable for the past week. It certainly isn’t her fault that he didn’t receive the anticipated promotion at the factory.

• Projection
• Denial
• Displacement
• Rationalization

Parents might be reassured to know that children who pull wings off flies may eventually find their niche in the areas of dentistry or surgery.

• Sublimation
• Denial
• Reaction Formation
• Projection

Mike is always trying to impress his pals with how strong and independent he has become. However, when Mike has social or emotional problems, he still wants his dad to figure out the solution.

• Rationalization
• Sublimation
• Regression
• Repression

A student forgot that his dreaded final exam in geometry was scheduled for Friday. This seemed unusual as the date of the exam had been marked on his calendar for several weeks.

• Regression
• Sublimation
• Reaction Formation
• Repression