Freud stopped having sex with his wife after the birth of their last child, although the couple remained married for many more years. Freud _____ his dysfunctional sex life with his wife by working long hours developing the psychosexual theory of personality development.

Question

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Freud used sublimation as a defense mechanism to redirect his sexual energy into his work on the psychosexual theory of personality development. This helped him to cope with the conflict he experienced regarding his dysfunctional sex life with his wife. Displacement involves taking out one's frustration or aggression on a substitute target, projection involves attributing one's undesirable qualities to others, and rationalization involves justifying one's behavior with socially acceptable reasons. None of these defense mechanisms fit the situation described in the question as well as sublimation.

Freud Stopped Having Sex with His Wife After the Birth