A patient who asked for and was refused a pass to leave the unit left the nurse's station and went to his room,where he slammed his closet door several times while looking for a sweater.This behavior is an example of __________ use of __________ .

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Displacement unconsciously transfers emotions associated with a person,object,or situation to another less threatening person,object,or situation.The patient slammed doors instead of discharging his feelings of anger against the individual who refused to give him the pass.Such behavior is adaptive in that it prevented aggression toward the source of his frustration.Sublimation is the unconscious process of substituting constructive activity for unacceptable impulses and by definition is an adaptive mechanism.Slamming of closet doors cannot be considered a constructive activity.Repression involves the unconscious blocking or exclusion of unacceptable thoughts or urges.In this case,the unacceptable impulses (to strike the nurse)are not blocked but redirected (displaced)instead.Reaction formation keeps unacceptable feelings or behaviors out of awareness by substituting the opposite feeling or behavior;reaction formation here would have involved the patient behaving protectively toward the nurse.

A Patient Who Asked for and Was Refused a Pass