Whenever Olivia feels badly about an exam performance she visits the professor and breaks down into tears.As the professor attempts to console her,she is reminded of her childhood.Sigmund Freud would say that Olivia is using ________ to alleviate her anxieties about her academic abilities.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to Freud's theory, regression refers to the defense mechanism in which an individual goes back to an earlier stage of development to cope with anxiety or stress. Olivia's behavior of breaking down into tears and being reminded of her childhood suggests that she is regressing to an earlier stage of development to deal with her anxieties about academic performance.

Whenever Olivia Feels Badly About an Exam Performance She Visits