Review Question - QID 105744

Fantasy is the tendency to retreat into imaginative or improbable thoughts in order to resolve inner and outer conflicts. It is an immature defense mechanism.

Individuals who use fantasy imagine that fictitious elements will help guide them through or fix their problems. Examples include a man believing that fate will let him keep a foreclosed house, or a patient’s belief that a stuffed animal will help him escape infection in the hospital.

Whitty discusses the use of defense mechanisms by age group, reporting that while younger individuals use fewer mature and more immature defense mechanisms than middle-aged or older groups, middle-aged and older participants did not exhibit significant differences in their use of defense mechanisms.

Sanstrom et al. review the use of defense mechanisms in childhood. Children who used immature defense mechanisms reported higher levels of social anxiety and depression than their peers, while children who used mature defense mechanisms scored higher on assessments of competence in social, athletic, and academic realms.

Incorrect Answers:
Answer 1: Idealization, an immature defense mechanism, is the act of unconsciously choosing to perceive another individual as having more positive qualities than he or she may actually have.
Answer 2: Realistic planning for future discomfort defines anticipation, a mature defense mechanism.
Answer 3: The unconscious modeling of one's self upon another person's character and behavior defines identification, a mature defense mechanism.
Answer 5: Reaction formation, a neurotic defense mechanism, is the act of converting unconscious wishes or impulses that are perceived to be dangerous into their opposites.