A college student decides to go to a party the night before a major exam instead of studying. After receiving a low score on the exam, the student tells a fellow student, I have to work too much and don't have time to study. It wouldn't matter anyway because the teacher is so unreasonable. The defense mechanisms the student is using are

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When stating that it wouldn't matter if the student studied, the student is using rationalization, which is excusing own behavior to avoid guilt, responsibility, conflict, anxiety, or loss of self-respect. When stating that the teacher is unreasonable, the student is using projection or the unconscious blaming of unacceptable inclinations or thoughts as an external object. Denial is the failure to acknowledge an unbearable condition.
Displacement is the ventilation of intense feelings toward persons less threatening than the one who aroused those feelings. Reaction formation is acting the opposite of what one thinks or feels. Resistance is overt or covert antagonism toward remembering or processing anxiety-producing information. Regression is moving back to a previous developmental stage to feel safe or have needs met. Compensation is overachievement in one area to offset real or perceived deficiencies in another area.

A College Student Decides to Go to a Party the Night