Review Question - QID 105771

Displacement is an immature defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses to a more acceptable or less threatening individual in order to avoid dealing directly with more frightening or threatening individuals.

Adults use displacement fairly commonly. Displacement may be useful in the short-term to avoid stress, but can cause problems in the long-term in otherwise stable relationships.

Whitty discusses the use of defense mechanisms by age group, reporting that while younger individuals use less 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: Temporary drastic modification of one's personal identity or character to avoid emotional distress is characteristic of dissociation.
Answer 2: Isolation is the separation of feelings from ideas and events.
Answer 3: Regression is the temporary reversion of the ego to an earlier stage of development.
Answer 4: Symbolically nullifying an unacceptable or guilt provoking thought, idea, or feeling by confession or atonement is characteristic of undoing.