Question 1

Smiling and acting sickeningly sweet while on the inside you are a seething hotbed of hostility and frustration is an example of ______.

Accepted Answer

This behavior is an example of a reaction formation, where someone expresses the opposite of what they truly feel. They may feel angry or frustrated, but act overly nice to disguise those feelings. Projection involves attributing one's own emotions or thoughts to someone else, sublimation involves channeling negative emotions into a socially acceptable behavior, and rationalization involves justifying one's actions or feelings. None of those fully capture the behavior described.

Question 2

Self-deceiving excuses or justifications used to explain unacceptable behavior that exonerate us from blame and guilt are examples of ______.

Accepted Answer

Self-deceiving excuses or justifications used to explain unacceptable behavior that exonerate us from blame and guilt are examples of rationalization. Rationalization is a defense mechanism where one attempts to logically justify or explain away their actions or behaviors to make them seem less unacceptable or more acceptable.

Question 3

The process of blaming others for your own unacceptable impulses or claiming that others harbor those impulses is ______.

Accepted Answer

The process of blaming others for your own unacceptable impulses or claiming that others harbor those impulses is known as projection. This defense mechanism involves attributing one's own thoughts, feelings, and motivations to others because they are deemed too threatening to acknowledge in oneself.

Question 4

A man justified raping a woman by claiming she was dressed provocatively. This is an example of ______.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A man justified raping a woman by...

Question 5

A hostile person develops delusions that others are attempting to destroy him. This is an example of ______.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of projection, where the individual attributes their own hostile feelings or thoughts onto others, believing that others are out to harm them instead of recognizing these feelings as their own.

Question 6

A child who is yelled at by her parents for misbehaving turns and throws her toys at the wall, yelling, "Bad toys!" This is an example of ______.

Accepted Answer

Displacement is a defense mechanism where an individual redirects their emotions from the original source of their frustration onto a substitute target. In this case, the child is unable to express their anger toward their parents, so they displace it onto their toys.

Question 7

A man explains his cheating on his income taxes by saying, "Everyone does it! I just got caught!" This is an example of ______.

Accepted Answer

The statement is a clear example of rationalization, where the man is attempting to justify his actions with an excuse that "everyone does it."

Question 8

A woman who is frustrated at work comes home and kills her family. This is an extreme example of ______.

Accepted Answer

The woman in this scenario is using displacement, which is when someone takes out their frustrations on a less threatening target than the one causing the frustration. In this case, the woman's frustration at work is too threatening to directly express, so she displaces it onto her family.

Question 9

A person claims that his house is NOT in danger from the rising flood waters of a nearby river and refuses to leave, despite being in imminent danger of being drowned. This is an example of ______.

Accepted Answer

Denial involves refusing to accept or acknowledge a reality or situation that is too uncomfortable to face. In this case, the person is denying the danger they are in despite evidence to the contrary, and is refusing to leave their house.

Question 10

Assumption of a behavior in opposition to one's genuine impulses in order to keep those impulses buried is ______.

Accepted Answer

Reaction formation involves behaving in a way that is opposite to one's true feelings or impulses in order to keep them hidden. Projection involves attributing one's own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone else. Sublimation involves channeling one's impulses into a more socially acceptable activity. Rationalization involves creating justifications or explanations for one's behavior or feelings.

Question 11

An adult becomes highly dependent on his parents after the breakup of his marriage. This is an example of ______.

Accepted Answer

Regression is a defense mechanism where an individual reverts to an earlier stage of development or behavior when faced with stress or problem. In this scenario, the adult has regressed to a more dependent stage and is seeking support from his parents after the breakup of his marriage.

Question 12

The channeling of primitive impulses into positive, constructive efforts is ______.

Accepted Answer

Sublimation is the process of redirecting primitive impulses, such as aggression, into positive and constructive actions, such as art, writing or sports, that are socially acceptable. This is a healthier way to deal with these impulses than repressing, denying or acting on them. Displacement involves transferring emotions from a threatening or unacceptable object to a less threatening one. Reaction formation involves expressing the opposite of what one truly feels.

Question 13

A man goes on an impulsive, expensive shopping spree and then tries to justify it to his wife by saying, "Honey, I saved us a fortune because everything was on sale!" He is using the defense mechanism of ______.

Accepted Answer

Rationalization involves justifying or rationalizing one's behavior or actions, often by providing logical, but false or misleading, reasons for them. In this case, the man is rationalizing his impulsive shopping spree by claiming that he actually saved money because everything was on sale, even though he likely spent more money than he would have otherwise.

Question 14

A sexually frustrated woman claims that sex is evil and then interprets the innocent gestures of others as sexual advances. She then claims her own sexual desires stem from these "advances" made by others. This defense mechanism is ______.

Accepted Answer

Projection involves attributing one's own unacceptable feelings or desires to someone else. In this scenario, the woman is projecting her own sexual desires onto others, claiming these desires are responses to their "advances," rather than acknowledging them as her own.

Question 15

A six-year-old child begins bedwetting and starts sucking his thumb after the birth of a baby sister. This is an example of ______.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of regression, which is when someone reverts to an earlier stage of development or behavior in response to stress or frustration. In this case, the child is regressing to behaviors that were typical of a younger age (bedwetting and thumb-sucking) in response to the stress of a new sibling.

Question 16

Refusal to accept the true nature of a threat is ______.

Accepted Answer

Denial refers to the refusal to accept the reality of a situation or threat.

Question 17

Smokers who refuse to believe that cigarettes may increase their risk of developing cancer are using the defense mechanism of ______.

Accepted Answer

Denial is a defense mechanism where individuals refuse to acknowledge or accept reality, often as a way of avoiding discomfort or anxiety. In this case, smokers who deny the link between smoking and cancer are using denial as a defense mechanism.

Question 18

A conservative woman who cannot accept her sexual desires goes on a holy crusade to ban pornography. This is an example of ______.

Accepted Answer

This scenario is an example of a reaction formation, which is when an individual adopts beliefs or behaviors opposite of their own unacceptable or unconscious impulses. In this case, the woman cannot accept her sexual desires, so she crusades against porn, which represents sexual expression.

Question 19

A man who is scolded by his boss and then yells at the employees who work for him, rather than the boss who upset him in the first place, is using the defense mechanism of ______.

Accepted Answer

The man is displacing his anger from his boss onto his employees, using them as a target for his frustration.

Question 20

The transfer of impulses and ideas from threatening or unsuitable objects to "safer" and less threatening objects is ______.

Accepted Answer

Displacement is the process of redirecting impulses or emotions from their original object to a less threatening or safer object, which reduces anxiety or discomfort. Reaction formation involves expressing the opposite of one's true feelings or impulses. Sublimation involves channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable or productive activities. Projection involves attributing one's own unwanted thoughts or feelings onto another person or object.

Quiz 2: Personality: What It Is, How Its Measured