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Inpsychoanalytic theory,defense mechanisms areunconscious psychological processes that protect the self from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and external stressors.[1] We automatically use defences to protect ourselves from threats andaffects to maintain psychologicalbalance andhomeostasis.[2] Defenses are automatic responses to external stressors or internal conflicts.[3]
Healthy people have a fully developed sense of "object constancy", knowing that bad and good can exist at the same time in the same person.[4] A defense mechanism can becomepathological when its persistent use leads to maladaptive behaviour such that the physical or mental health of the individual is adversely affected. Among the purposes of defense mechanisms is to protect the mind/self/ego fromanxiety or to provide a refuge from a situation with which one cannot cope at that moment.[5]
Examples of defense mechanisms include:repression, the exclusion of unacceptable desires and ideas from consciousness;identification, the incorporation of some aspects of an object into oneself;[6]rationalization, the justification of one's behaviour by using apparently logical reasons that are acceptable to theego, thereby further suppressing awareness of the unconscious motivations;[7] andsublimation, the process of channelinglibido into "socially useful" disciplines, such as artistic, cultural, and intellectual pursuits, which indirectly provide gratification for the original drives.[8]
In the first definitive book on defence mechanisms,The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence (1936),[9]Anna Freud enumerated the ten defence mechanisms that appear in the works of her father,Sigmund Freud:repression,regression,reaction formation,isolation,undoing,projection,introjection,turning against one's own person, reversal into the opposite, andsublimation ordisplacement.[10]
Sigmund Freud posited that defence mechanisms work by distortingid impulses into acceptable forms, or by unconscious or conscious blockage of these impulses.[9] Anna Freud considered defense mechanisms as intellectual and motor automatisms of various degrees of complexity, that arose in the process of involuntary and voluntary learning.[11]
Anna Freud introduced the concept of signal anxiety; she stated that it was "not directly a conflicted instinctual tension but a signal occurring in the ego of an anticipated instinctual tension".[9] The signalling function of anxiety was thus seen as crucial, and biologically adapted to warn the organism of danger or a threat to its equilibrium. The anxiety is felt as an increase in bodily or mental tension, and the signal that the organism receives in this way allows for the possibility of taking defensive action regarding the perceived danger.
Both Freuds studied defence mechanisms, but Anna spent more of her time and research on five main mechanisms: repression, regression, projection, reaction formation, and sublimation. All defence mechanisms are responses to anxiety and how the consciousness and unconscious manage the stress of a social situation.[12]
Robert Plutchik's (1979) theory views defences as derivatives of basicemotions, which in turn relate to particular diagnostic structures. According to his theory, reaction formation relates to joy (and manic features), denial relates to acceptance (and histrionic features), repression to fear (and passivity), regression to surprise (and borderline traits), compensation to sadness (and depression), projection to disgust (and paranoia), displacement to anger (and hostility) and intellectualization to anticipation (and obsessionality).[13]
Different theorists have different categorizations and conceptualizations of defence mechanisms. Large reviews of theories of defence mechanisms are available from Paulhus, Fridhandler and Hayes (1997)[14] and Cramer (1991).[15] TheJournal of Personality published a special issue on defence mechanisms (1998).[16]
TheDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) published by theAmerican Psychiatric Association (1994) includes a tentative diagnostic axis for defence mechanisms.[17] This classification is largely based on Vaillant's hierarchical view of defences, but has some modifications. Examples include: denial, fantasy, rationalization, regression, isolation, projection, and displacement. However, additional defense mechanisms are still proposed and investigated by different authors. For instance, in 2023, time distortion was proposed in a publication as a newly identified ego defense.[18]
Otto F. Kernberg developed a theory of borderline personality organization of which one consequence may beborderline personality disorder. His theory is based on ego psychologicalobject relations theory. Borderline personality organization develops when the child cannot integrate helpful and harmful mental objects together. Kernberg views the use of primitive defence mechanisms as central to this personality organization. Primitive psychological defences are projection, denial, dissociation or splitting and they are called borderline defence mechanisms. Also, devaluation and projective identification are seen as borderline defences.[21]
Psychiatrist George Eman Vaillant introduced a four-level classification of defence mechanisms.[24][25] Much of this work is derived from his observations while overseeing the Grant Study, a longitudinal investigation that began in 1937 and continues to the present.[26] In monitoring a cohort of Harvard men from their freshman year through late adulthood, Vaillant sought to determine which psychological mechanisms influenced long-term adaptation and life outcomes.[27] The hierarchy of defences was found to correlate with overall psychological maturity and the capacity to adapt effectively to life’s challenges.[28] The overarching aim of the study was to define the characteristics of mental health rather than psychopathology.[29]
When predominant, the mechanisms on this level are almost always severelypathological. These defences permit the individual to radically reshape external reality in order to avoid coping with it. Pathological users of these mechanisms may appear irrational orinsane to others. These are the “pathological” defences, commonly observed in overtpsychosis, although they also appear in dreams and in normal childhood development.[28][30]
They include:
These mechanisms are often present in adults. They lessen distress and anxiety produced by threatening people or by an uncomfortable reality. Excessive use of such defences is seen as socially undesirable, in that they are immature, difficult to deal with, and seriously out of touch with reality. These defences are often seen inmajor depression andpersonality disorders.[28]
They include:
These mechanisms are consideredneurotic, but fairly common in adults. Such defences have short-term advantages in coping but can cause long-term problems in relationships, work, and enjoyment of life when used as one's primary coping style.[28]
They include:
These mechanisms are commonly found among emotionally healthy adults and are considered mature, even though many originate in earlier developmental stages. They are conscious processes adapted over time to optimise success in society and relationships. Their use enhances pleasure and feelings of control and helps integrate conflicting emotions and thoughts.[28]
Mature defences include:
The defence Mechanism Rating Scale (DMRS) includes thirty processes of defence that are divided into 7 categories. Starting from the highest level of adaptiveness these levels include: high-adaptive, obsessional, neurotic, minor image-distorting, disavowal, major image-distorting, and action. The scale was originally created by J. Christopher Perry for the purpose of being able to provide patients with a "defence diagnosis."[37] Additions have been made by Mariagrazia Di Giuseppe and colleagues to enlarge the application of the DMRS, creating the DMRS self report and DMRS-Q sort.[38]
Psychologist J. Perry follows a system that ranks defence mechanisms into seven levels, ranging from a high-adaptive defence level to a psychotic defence level. Assessments carried out when analyzing patients such as the Defence Mechanism Rating Scale (DMRS) and Vaillant's hierarchy of defense mechanisms have been used and modified for over 40 years to provide numerical data on the state of a person's defensive functioning.[37]
Action defence mechanisms are used unconsciously to help reduce stress. Examples includepassive aggression, help-rejecting complaining, andacting out, which channel impulses into appropriate behaviors. These processes offer short-term relief but may prevent lasting improvements in the root causes.
Major image-distorting mechanisms are used to guard a person's own image and their ego from perceived dangers, conflicts, or fears. These processes involve simplifying the way a person sees themselves and others. Splitting of one's self or other's image andprojective identification both work on an unconscious level and help to alter reality, enabling these individuals to uphold a more positive view of their lives or situations.
Disavowal defence mechanisms include the rejection or denial of unpleasant ideas, emotions, or events. People sometimes distance themselves from certain parts of their identity, whether they are aware of it or not, in order to avoid feelings of unease or discomfort. Mechanisms such as autistic fantasy,rationalization,denial, andprojection, can help shield one's ego from feelings of stress or guilt that arise when facing reality.
Level four defence mechanisms serve the purpose of protecting an individual's self-esteem. There are several processes that people may use, such asdevaluation and idealization of self-image and others-image, as well asomnipotence. These mechanisms assist in preserving a healthy self-perception during times of psychological instability.
These defences are strategies that the mind uses without conscious awareness in order to manage anxiety, which is often a result of ongoing conflicts. There are several mechanisms that people use to cope with distressing thoughts and emotions. These includerepression,displacement,dissociation, andreaction formation. These defences may offer brief relief; however, they can inhibit development in oneself and contribute to harmful habits.
Obsessional defences refer to mental techniques that individuals utilize to cope with anxiety by exerting control over their thoughts, emotions, or behaviors. People may rely on strict routines, a desire for perfection, or a strong need for order to maintain a sense of control and avoid facing uncertainty or undesirable impulses. These defences, such as isolation of affects,intellectualization, andundoing, provide a short-term solution but can result in the development ofobsessive-compulsive behaviors and hinder one's capacity to express and adapt to emotions.
This level of defences allow individuals to cope with stressors, challenges, and trauma. Mechanisms, such assublimation, affiliation, self-assertion, suppression,altruism, anticipation, humor, andself-observation play a role in building resilience. They allow individuals to redefine challenges in a beneficial way that maximizes positivity. In doing so, they enhance their psychological well-being and encourage adaptation.[39][40][41]
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There are multiple different perspectives on how the construct ofdefence relates to the construct ofcoping. While the two concepts share multiple similarities, there is a distinct difference between them that depends on the state of consciousness the process is carried out in. The process of coping involves using logic and reason to stabilize negative emotions and stressors. This differs from defence, which is driven by impulse and urges.[42][43]
Similarities between coping and defense mechanisms have been extensively studied in relation to variousmental health conditions, such asdepression,anxiety, andpersonality disorders.[44] Research indicates that these mechanisms often follow specific patterns within different disorders, with some, like avoidant coping, potentially exacerbating future symptoms.[45] This aligns with the vulnerability-stress psychopathology model, which involves two core components: vulnerability (non-adaptive mechanisms and processes) and stress (life events).[46] These factors interact to create a threshold for the development of mental disorders. The types of coping and defense mechanisms used can either contribute to vulnerability or act as protective factors.[47] Coping and defence mechanisms work in tandem to balance out feelings of anxiety or guilt, categorizing them both as a "mechanisms ofadaptation."[43]
Criticism regarding defence mechanisms focus on the lack of empirical evidence as most of the evidence for defence mechanisms comes from clinical observations and subjective interpretations.[48]
Critics have stated that due to the difficult nature of studying defence mechanisms that future research should distinguish more between the theoretical constructs of defence mechanisms and actual behaviors.[49]
Defense mechanisms (or coping styles) are automatic psychological processes that protect the individual against anxiety and from the awareness of internal or external dangers or stressors.
The term 'defenses' refers to the characteristic ways in which we protect ourselves from psychological threats and aversive affect states, and attempt to maintain psychological equilibrium and homeostasis in the face of challenges and hardships. In contrast to 'coping' mechanisms, defenses operate in a mostly automatic manner, partially or wholly out of awareness.
Defenses are an individual's automatic psychological response to external stressors or psychological conflict.
Whether people's defenses are based primarily on repression or splitting is related to whether they have achieved object constancy. [...] object constancy is knowing that bad and good can exist in the same person.
adapted fromGabbard
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