Trisha, who is on a diet, passes a bakery and sees a chocolate cake in the window. She immediately wants to go in and get the cake, but then realizes that eating the cake will only destroy her diet. When she then feels guilty for even thinking about breaking her diet, Trisha is experiencing ________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Trisha is experiencing psychic conflict, which refers to the internal struggle between opposing desires or motives. In this case, she wants to indulge in the chocolate cake but also wants to stick to her diet, which creates conflicting feelings and a sense of guilt. Delay of gratification refers to the ability to resist immediate temptation in order to achieve long-term goals, sublimation refers to channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities, and reaction formation refers to expressing the opposite of one's true feelings or impulses. None of these concepts fully capture Trisha's experience in this scenario.

Trisha, Who Is on a Diet, Passes a Bakery and Sees