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In psychoanalytic theory, 'defence mechanisms' are unconscious resources used by the ego to reduce conflict between the id and superego and thereby anxiety. For that reason 'they are more accurately referred to as ego defence mechanisms.' They can thus be categorized as occurring due to the following scenarios:

★ When the id impulses are in conflict with each other;

★ When the id impulses conflict with superego values and beliefs;

★ When an external threat is posed to the ego.
The term "defence mechanism" is often thought to refer to a definitive singular term for personality traits which arise due to loss or traumatic experiences, but more accurately refers to several types of reactions which were identified during and after daughter Anna Freud's time.

Contents

Structural model: The id, ego, and superego

Are they pathological?

List of defence mechanisms

Different theories and classifications of defence mechanisms

O.F. Kernberg's view of borderline defence mechanisms

G.E. Vaillant's hierarchy of defence mechanisms

R. Plutchik's psychoevolutionary theory of emotions and defence mechanisms

Classification in diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV)

Notes

References

External links

Structural model: The id, ego, and superego

The concept of id impulses comes from Sigmund Freud’s structural model. Id impulses are based on the pleasure principle: instant gratification of one’s own desires and needs. Sigmund Freud believed that the id represents biological instinctual impulses in ourselves, which are aggression (Thanatos or the Death instinct) and sexuality (Eros or the Life instinct). For example, when the id impulses (e.g. desire to have sexual relations with a stranger) conflict with the superego (e.g. belief in societal conventions of not having sex with unknown persons), the feelings of anxiety come to the surface. To reduce these negative feelings, the ego might use defence mechanisms.
Freud also believed that conflicts between these two structures resulted in conflicts associated with psychosexual stages.

'Definitions of individual psyche structures'
We can summarize the three structures of the psyche or personality as proposed by Freud:

★ Id: a selfish, primitive, childish, pleasure-oriented part of the personality with no ability to delay gratification.

★ Superego: internalized societal and parental standards of "good" and "bad" and "right" and "wrong" behaviour.

★ Ego: the moderator between the id and superego which seeks compromises to pacify both.
'Primary and secondary processes'
In the ego, there are two processes going on. First, there is the unconscious primary process, where the thoughts are not organized in a coherent way, the feelings can shift, contradictions are not in conflict or are just not perceived that way, and condensations arise. There is no logic and no time line. Lust is important for this process. By contrast, there is the conscious secondary process, where strong boundaries are set and thoughts must be organized in a coherent way. Most conscious thoughts originate here.
'The reality principle'
Id impulses are not appropriate for civilized society, so society presses us to modify the pleasure principle in favour of the reality principle; that is, the requirements of the external world.
'Formation of the superego'
The superego forms as the child grows and internalizes parental and societal standards. The superego consists of two structures: the conscience, which stores information about what is "bad" and what has been punished and the ego ideal, which stores information about what is "good" and what one "should" do or be. (Interestingly, the Freudian conscience became cognitive-behavioural therapist Albert Ellis' focus.)
'The ego's use of defence mechanisms'
When anxiety becomes too overwhelming it is then the place of the ego to employ defence mechanisms to protect the individual. Feelings of guilt, embarrassment and shame often accompany the feeling of anxiety. In the first definitive book on defence mechanisms, ''Ego and mechanisms of defence'' (1936), Anna Freud introduced the concept of signal anxiety; she stated that it was ‘not directly a conflicted instinctual tension but a signal occurring in the ego of an anticipated instinctual tension’. The signaling function of anxiety is thus seen as a crucial one and biologically adapted to warn the organism of danger or a threat to its equilibrium. The anxiety is felt as an increase in bodily or mental tension and the signal that the organism receives in this way allows it the possibility of taking defensive action towards the perceived danger. Defence mechanisms work by distorting the id impulses into acceptable forms, or by unconscious blockage of these impulses.

Are they pathological?

Defence mechanisms are helpful and, if used in a proper manner, are healthy. However, if misused, the defence mechanisms may also be unhealthy. Some disorders, such as personality disorders and psychosis, may in fact be caused in part by inadequate use of appropriate defence mechanisms. The maladaptive use of defence mechanisms can occur in a variety of cases, such as when they become automatic and prevent individuals from realizing their true feelings and thoughts or when they put the person in actual danger. For example, someone who is in denial about the possibility that a new sexual partner could carry an STD may not take appropriate precautions to protect their own sexual health.
Defence mechanisms can also be maladaptive when they are continually used in a way that disrupts reality-testing. Repeated denial and paranoid projection use can cause people to lose touch with the real world and their surroundings and consequently isolate themselves from it and dwell in a ‘created’ world of their own design. For example, people with addictive behaviour are known to misuse such defence mechanisms as denial. Defence mechanisms can also be harmful if:

★ There are too few defences which can be employed in coping with threats;

★ There is too much superego activity, which causes the use of too many defences.

List of defence mechanisms

Sigmund Freud was the first person to develop the concept of defence mechanisms, however it was his daughter Anna Freud who clarified and conceptualized it. She has described various different defence mechanisms:

★ 'Compensation.' Compensation occurs when someone takes up one behaviour because one cannot accomplish another behaviour.

★ 'Denial.' Unconsciously refusing to perceive the more unpleasant aspects of external reality (feelings, events, or both), replacing it with a less threatening but inaccurate one.

★ 'Displacement.' An unconscious defence mechanism, whereby the mind redirects emotion from a ‘dangerous’ object to a ‘safe’ object. In psychoanalytic theory, displacement is a defence mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses to a more acceptable or less threatening target; redirecting emotion to a safer outlet;

★ ' Dissociation.' Separation or postponement of a feeling that normally would accompany a situation or thought.

★ 'Humour.' Refocuses attention on the somewhat comical side of the situation as to relieve negative tension; similar to comic relief.

★ 'Idealization.' Form of denial in which the object of attention is presented as "all good" masking true negative feelings towards the other.

★ 'Identification.' The unconscious modeling of one's self upon another person's behavior.

★ 'Intellectualization (isolation).' Concentrating on the intellectual components of the situations as to distance oneself from the anxiety provoking emotions associated with these situations;

★ 'Introjection.' Identifying with some idea or object so deeply that it becomes a part of that person.

★ 'Inversion.' Refocusing of aggression or emotions evoked from an external force onto one's self.

★ ' Isolation. separating feelings and thoughts that are connected

★ 'minimizing.'' writing off problematic events of behaviors as being too minor to worry about.

★ 'Projection.' Attributing to others, one’s own unacceptable or unwanted thoughts and/or emotions. Projection reduces anxiety in the way that it allows the expression of the impulse or desire without letting the ego recognize it;

★ 'Rationalization.' The process of constructing a logical justification for a decision that was originally arrived at through a different mental process;

★ 'Reaction formation.' The converting of unconscious wishes or impulses that are perceived to be dangerous into their opposites;

★ 'Regression.' The reversion to an earlier stage of development in the face of unacceptable impulses;

★ ' Repression.' The process of pulling thoughts into the unconscious and preventing painful or dangerous thoughts from entering consciousness. The painful feelings are initially conscious and then forgotten. They are stored in the unconscious and, under certain circumstances, can be retrieved. Repression can range from momentary memory lapses to complete amnesia of a catastrophic event, such as a murder or an earthquake.

★ 'Somatisation.' Manifestation of emotional anxiety into physical symptoms.

★ 'Splitting.' Repressing, dissociating or disconnecting important feelings that are "dangerous" to psychic well-being. Causes the person to get out of touch with her/his feelings; fragmented self. An example is Anna Nicole Smith's bizarre reaction to her son's death as she believed he was still alive.

★ 'Substitution.' When a person replaces one feeling or emotion for another.

★ 'Sublimation.' The refocusing of psychic energy (which Sigmund Freud believed was limited) away from negative outlets to more positive outlets. These drives which cannot find an outlet are rechannelled. In Freud’s classic theory, erotic energy is only allowed limited expression due to repression, and much of the remainder of a given group’s erotic energy is used to develop its culture and civilization. Freud considered this defence mechanism the most productive compared to the others that he identified. Sublimation is the process of transforming libido into ‘socially useful’ achievements, mainly art. Psychoanalysts often refer to sublimation as the only truly successful defence mechanism;

★ 'Suppression.' The conscious process of pushing thoughts into the preconscious.

★ 'Undoing.' A person tries to 'undo' a negative or threatening thought by their actions.

Different theories and classifications of defence mechanisms

The list of particular defence mechanisms is huge and there is no theoretical consensus on the amount of defence mechanisms. It has been attempted to classify defence mechanisms according some of their properties (i.e. underlying mechanisms, similarities or connections with personality). Different theorists have different categorizations and conceptualizations of defence mechanisms. Large reviews of theories of defence mechanisms are available from Paulhus, Fridhandler and Hayes (1997)^[1] and Cramer (1991)^[2]. Also Journal of Personality (1998)^[3] has a special issue on defence mechanisms.

O.F. Kernberg's view of borderline defence mechanisms

Otto Kernberg (1967) has developed a theory of borderline personality organization (which one consequence may be borderline personality disorder). His theory is based on ego psychological object relations theory. Borderline personality organization develops when the child cannot integrate positive and negative mental objects together. Kernberg views the use of primitive defence mechanisms central to this personality organization. Primitive psychological defences are projection, denial, dissociation or splitting, and they are called borderline defence mechanisms. Also devaluation and projective identification are seen as borderline defences. ^[4]

G.E. Vaillant's hierarchy of defence mechanisms

In George Vaillant's (1977) categorization defences form a continuum regarding to their psychoanalytical developmental level ^[5]. Levels are:

★ Level I - psychotic defences (i.e. psychotic denial, delusional projection)

★ Level II - immature defences (i.e. fantasy, projection, passive aggression, acting out)

★ Level III - neurotic defences (i.e. intellectualization, reaction formation, dissociation, displacement, repression)

★ Level IV - mature defences (i.e. humor, sublimation, suppression, altruism, anticipation)

R. Plutchik's psychoevolutionary theory of emotions and defence mechanisms

Robert Plutchik's (1979) theory views defences as derivatives of basic emotions. Defence mechanisms in his theory are (in order of placement in circumplex model): reaction formation, denial, repression, regression, compensation, projection, displacement, intellectualization. ^[6]

Classification in diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV)

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) published by American Psychiatric Association (1994) includes tentative diagnostic axis for defence mechanisms ^[7]. This classification is largely based on Vaillant's hierarchical view of defences, but has some modifications. Levels of defence are:

★ Defensive disregulation (i.e. delusional projection and psychotic denial)

★ Action Level (i.e. passive aggression, acting out)

★ Disavowal or image-distorting (ie. projection, fantasy)

★ Compromise formation level (i.e. dissociation, displacement)

★ High adaptive (i.e. altruism, sublimation)

Notes

1. Paulhus, D.L., Fridhandler B., & Hayes S. (1997). Psychological defence: Contemporary theory and research. In R. Hogan, J. Johnson & S.R. Briggs (Ed.), Handbook of personality psychology (543-579). California: Academic Press.
2. Cramer, P. (1991). The Development of Defense Mechanisms: Theory, Research, and Assessment. New York, Springer-Verlag.
3. Special issue on Defense mechanisms. Journal of Personality (1998), 66(6)
4. Kernberg, O. (1967). Borderline Personality Organization. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 15:641-685

5. Vaillant, G. E. (1977). Adaptation to life. Boston: Little Brown.
6. Plutchik, R., Kellerman, H., & Conte, H. R. (1979). A structural theory of ego defenses and emotions. In C. E. Izard (Ed.), Emotions in personality and psychopathology (pp. 229–-257). New
York: Plenum Press.
7. American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

References

★ Fonagy, P. and Target, M. (2003). ''Psychoanalytic Theories: Perspectives from Developmental Psychopathology.'' London: Whurr Publishers.

★ Freud, A. (1937). ''The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence.'' London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho-Analysis.

★ "The Complete Guide to Social Work". Independent Study for the ASWB exam

External links

★ Garrett, F. (2002). Addiction and Its Mechanisms of Defense.

★ Schafer, Roy (1968). The Mechanisms of Defence. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 49:49-62. - access requires online subscription

★ Heffner, C.L. (2001). Psychology 101.

★ Niolon, R. (1999). PsychPage: Defenses.

★ Stanescu, C. and Morosanu, P. (2005). Neuroticism, Ego Defense Mechanisms and Valoric Types: a Correlative Study.

★ Tucker-Ladd, C.E. (1996-2000). Psychological Self-Help.

★ Wagner, K., van (2006). Psychology About.