What are defense mechanisms?
Spent the last month reading about personality disorders. Every text including Vaknin's "Malignant Self-love" talks about "defense mechanisms" but no one explains what they are! HELP!
What are some of the defense mechanisms?
okay, i actually got my notes from psych class out for this one (feel loved): the ego (rational problem solving) is part of Freud's structural model of personality. it develops after the id (infant thinking...what we need) and before the superego (our conscience, what we think we should/shouldn't do) defense mechanisms of the ego: -denial - denying an event has occured -repression - forgetting an event, and then forgetting you forgot...to avoid traumatic memories -regression - retreating emotionally to earlier stage (acting like a child, basically) -reaction formation - turn an emotion into its opposite (say, hating someone intensely, and worrying about them getting hurt and watch over them constantly) -projection - see your impulses coming from other people (a person with homosexual tendencies thinks men are hitting on him) -displacement - change the target of you emotion (you hate your boss so you come home and kick your cat) -sublimation - take unacceptable impulses and turn them into acceptable things (someone with a lot of rage becoming a demolition artist)
What is a defense mechanism?
Defense mechanisms are mental processes that enable the mind to reach compromise solutions to conflicts that are difficult to resolve, and to thus reduce the anxiety caused by said conflicts. This anxiety may be generated by unacceptable or negative impulses. The process is usually unconscious, and the compromise generally involves concealing from oneself internal drives or feelings that threaten to lower self-esteem or provoke anxiety."When these make conflicting demands upon the poor ego, it is understandable if you feel threatened, fell overwhelmed, feel as if it were about to collapse under the weight of it all. This feeling is called anxiety, and it serves as a signal to the ego that its survival, and with it the survival of the whole organism, is in jeopardy.In order to deal with conflict and problems in life, Freud stated that the ego employs a range of defense mechanisms. defense mechanisms operate at an unconscious level and help ward off unpleasant feelings (i.e. anxiety) or make good things feel better for the individual." - Defense MechanismsExamples:- Denial: "I don't have a drinking problem."- Projection: "I don't like Mike. I know the dude hates me, I know it."- Displacement: "I feel so angry I'd kick anyone."- Reaction Formation: "I want love so bad- actually... I hate love. I don't need it. I'm asexual."- Compensation: "Damn. I'm so weak... I'm going to read this pile of books to compensate for different lack."- Acting out: Temper tantrums. - and many more. These defense mechanisms are often unconscious, non-voluntary, and arise when we feel psychologically highly under-demand or threatened, or have come against a stressful situation in life.I have piled to an album and written about other defense mechanisms on my page in Defense Mechanisms | Facebook
How are the defense mechanisms relevant in marketing?
To say it in an extreme way: it’s all related “defense mechanisms” if we mean them in a slightly more open way. Without going too deep into the psychological matter, let’s talk about marketing:You are going to market something cause you need someone buying it.How you can make someone buy it? Persuading that what you sell is what they need.It’s normal that when it comes with spending money, acquiring a good or a service, choosing a candidate to vote, support an artist, your brain has to deal with multiple inputs, like:I have limited resources (money, time, energy): is that the best choice I can do with my resources?There are plenty of opportunity: choosing it am I going to close the door to other opportunities? (FEAR OF MISSING OUT)So the brain to reduce the anxiety related with those inputs tends to distorce reality negatively toward us and/or positively toward some other choice (or no choice at all) , or sometimes we can use defence to turn the person our customer.Marketing requires earn trust and build a relationship: if not, as long we really have what fits with customer’s needs, we will not really get a way to tell them about it, cause as much we try they will just hear a buzz and their brain confirming what they already think, without giving us a chance.The “confirmation bias” is the most effective strategy to deal directly with defence mechanism in our favour, confirming potential customers self-schema, but in a less “strictly technical” meaning anything related with marketing has to deal with unconscius mechanisms.
Ego Defense Mechanisms- Psychology?
I understand some of the ego defense mechanisms, but others I don't really understand. Projection Reaction formation Compensation I will write to you the book's definition as I've read it and the examples multiple of times, but I still do not understand it. I believe that an example with an explanation will stick in my head; another one that is. Projection: "Unconsciously attributed one's own unacceptable thoughts or impulses to another person instead of recognizing that "I hate him," a person may feel that "He hates me." Reaction formation: Defending against unacceptable impulses by acting opposite to them: Sexual interest in a married co-worker might appear as a strong dislike instead. Compensation: Striving to make up for unconscious impulses or fears: A business executive's extreme competitiveness might be aimed at compensating for unconscious feeling of inferiority. This is what the book said, but I want you to explain it in a way I can further understand it. Examples would be helpful, but please explain them. I just want the meaning to stick in my mind!
What is sublimation-defense mechanism?
Sublimation is a defense mechanism that allows us to act out unacceptable impulses by converting these behaviors into a more acceptable form. For example, a person experiencing extreme anger might take up kick boxing as a means of venting frustration. Freud believed that sublimation was a sign of maturity that allows people to function normally in socially acceptable ways.
Isn't narcissism a defense mechanism against extreme feelings of shame where the narcissist becomes shameless in their behaviors?
It will appear so (from the outside), but it is a deep disorder created from 0–5 and solidified 5–8/9 years old.(REAL) Narcissists (NPD Disorder) cannot be ‘cured’ because they’ve ‘locked’ themselves in with ‘arrogance’.The ‘defense mechanism’ (if there needs to be one described) is this:‘I am right and the world just doesn’t understand’I did a fun study regarding ‘Pride and Arrogance’. The results would surprise you!(Biblical ‘pride’
Is narcissism/NPD a defense mechanism?
It may start that way, in a young child who has been ignored, dismissed, neglected, abused by his primary caretakers, and then bullied by schoolkids.The defense is that the child dismisses the self that has been bullied and/or ignored, and instead replaces that with complimentary praise, however rare and from whomever: teachers, other relatives, etc.The child chooses to believe in the ‘special’ person and hides the dismissed child so well that eventually, s/he may not recall this desperately unhappy self, and the special self gets all the proper attention, accolades, etc.This is simply one way narcissism can be created, encouraged. The more this child needs to dismiss the unwanted/unliked self, the more s/he will fantasize anything positive that comes his or her way, and choose to believe that s/he is indeed, quite special.Anyone who compliments this new self becomes Supply. Anyone who challenges this new self is an enemy to be destroyed, if possible.I am not a professional anything. The above is my opinion from self-education and personal experience with a variety of narcissists.In short, yes, this is a defense mechanism.