Because the beginnings of his own sexual attraction to some of the girls in his seventh-grade class were so anxiety-provoking to Jeff, he often found himself teasing the girls to whom he was most attracted. Jeff's behavior is best explained by which of the following ego defense mechanisms?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Jeff's behavior of teasing the girls he is attracted to is an example of reaction formation, which is a defense mechanism where a person expresses the opposite feeling of what they actually feel to cope with their anxiety or guilt. In this case, Jeff may feel guilty or anxious about his sexual attraction to the girls and therefore expresses the opposite feeling by teasing them. Rationalization involves providing logical-sounding explanations for unacceptable behavior, displacement involves diverting emotions from their original source to a substitute target, and undoing involves trying to make amends for a past behavior. None of these defense mechanisms fully explain Jeff's behavior.

Because the Beginnings of His Own Sexual Attraction to Some