Ego Defense Mechanisms

The major psychodynamic functions of anxiety are to help the individual avoid
conscious recognition of
unacceptable instinctual impulses and to allow impulse gratification only indirectly.
Ego defense
mechanisms help to carry out these functions as well as to protect the person from
overwhelming anxiety.
(1) By blocking the impulse from expression in conscious behavior
(2) By distorting it to such a degree that the original intensity is markedly reduced
or deflected.
They operate an on unconscious level and are therefore self-deceptive and they
distort one’s perception of
reality, so as to make anxiety less threatening to the individual and they protect the
ego.
The ego fights a battle to stay at the top of id and super ego. The conflicts between
id and super ego
produce anxiety that is a threat to ego. The threat or anxiety experienced by ego is
a signal that alerts the
ego to use unconscious protective processes that keep primitive emotions
associated with conflicts in
check. These protective processes are defense mechanisms or coping styles.

Id
↓
Coping Styles Ego
↑
Super ego
Sublimation: According to Freud, sublimation is an ego defense that enables the
individual adaptively to
divert impulses so that they may be expressed via socially approved thoughts or
actions. Sublimation is
considered to be the only healthy, constructive strategy against objectionable
impulses because it allows the
ego to change the aim or object (or both) of impulses without inhibiting their
expression.
Repression: Freud regarded repression as the primary ego defense. Described as
selective forgetting,
repression completely obstructs the expression of unconscious sexual and
aggressive impulses so that they
cannot be admitted to awareness, at least as long as they remain objectionable to
the person. Hence, no
tension reduction is permitted.
Projection: As a defense mechanism, projection ranks next to repression in terms of
theoretical
importance. It refers to the process of unconsciously attributing one's own
unacceptable impulses, attitudes,
and behaviors to other people or to the environment. Projection thus enables us to
blame someone or
something else for our own shortcomings.
Displacement: In displacement, when viewed specifically as a defense mechanism (as
opposed to the more
general meaning of the term described earlier in this chapter), the expression of an
instinctual impulse is
redirected from a more threatening person or object to a less threatening one. For
example, the student
angered by his professor instead swears at his roommate. Or the child scolded by
her parents proceeds to hit
her little sister, kick her dog, or smash her toys.
Rationalization: Another important way in which the ego attempts to cope with
frustration and anxiety is
to distort reality and thus protect self-esteem. Rationalization refers to "fallacious
reasoning" in that it
misrepresents irrational behavior In order to make it appear rational and thus
justifiable to oneself and
others. One's mistakes, poor judgments, and failures can be explained through the
magic of rationalization.
Reaction Formation: Sometimes the ego can control or defend against the
expression of a forbidden
impulse by consciously expressing its opposite. This is known as reaction formation. As
a defensive
process it operates in tow steps: first, the unacceptable impulse is repressed: next,
the opposite is expressed
on a conscious level.
Regression: Still another common defense mechanism that we use to defend
ourselves against anxiety,
regression involves a reversion to an earlier stage of psychosexual development or to
a mode of expression
that is simpler and more childlike. It is a way of alleviating anxiety by retreating to
an earlier period of life.