ABSTRACT | PDF
Seminar II
Ego defense mechanisms
Diganta Kumar Das
Postgraduate Trainee of Psychiatry, Silchar Medical College and Hospital
Introduction Sigmund Freud in 1894 first introduced the term “defense” to describe the specific defense mechanisms in cases of hysteria which he was studying then. He later termed this particular defense repression which he regarded as ‘queen of defenses’. With the onset of the structural model, Freud shifted the function of defense to ego. However, defense mechanisms could not be studied systematically until after 1926 when Freud formulated his theory of signal anxiety and the mobilisation of defenses in response to danger signals. The first comprehensive study of defense mechanisms was written by Anna Freud in “ego and mechanisms of defense” in 1936. She pointed out that everyone uses a characteristic repertoire of defense mechanisms that is intimately related to that person’s character. By 1936, Anna Freud listed nine mechanisms of defense that are regression, repression, reaction formation, isolation, undoing, projection, turning against the self and reversal followed by sublimation.
George E Valliant identified a number of aspects of defenses:
1. Defenses are generally outside of awareness of individual or are unconscious.
2. Defenses by nature distort inner and outer reality. The degree of this distortion varies among various defense mechanisms as thus the focus of distortion. Some defenses distort or warded off internal drive or desire whereas others distort the external reality or interpersonal situation.
3. Defenses can appear strange or overt to the observer while going unnoticed by the subject.
4. Defenses are creative – the mind creates a new perception distinct from reality.
5. Defenses involve psychological conflict.
6. Defenses are adaptive and not all are pathological – some defenses are more adaptive than others and the use of defense is an inherent property of mind.
Properties of defense mechanisms according to Freud:
• They manage instinct, drive and affect.
• They are unconscious.
• They are discrete.
• They are dynamic and reversible.
• They can be adaptive as well as pathological.
Classification of defenses The defenses of ego can be classified in a variety of ways but any one classification is inadequate in its capacity to take into account all relevant factors.
1. According to the psychosexual stage with which they are associated (does not address the fact that some defenses such as regression are used in every development stage).
2. According to the nature of psychopathology with which they are associated (hysterical defenses include conversion, repression, dissociation).
3. According to the severity of psychopathology (Freud) like psychotic, neurotic or immature.
4. George E Valliant (1993) proposed a hierarchy of defense mechanisms ranked in four levels of adaptively. This hierarchy is based on the degree to which each defense distort reality and how effectively it enables expression of wishes or needs without untoward consequences.
• Psychotic or pathological defenses: Characterised by the extreme degree to which they distort external reality. Patients in psychotic state usually employ these defenses.
• Immature defenses: Characteristic of patients with personality disorder. Many of these defenses are irritating to others.
• Neurotic defenses: Distorts reality less and may go unnoticed by the observer. Do not typically irritate others and are more privately experienced, they are less interpersonal and often involve mental inhibitions.
• Mature defenses: These defenses maximise expression of drives or wishes without negative consequences or distortion of reality.
Ego defense mechanism According to Freud, we have two drives: sex and aggression. Everything we do is motivated by one of those two drives. Sex is also called eros or the life force. Freud used the term libido to refer to the force by which the sexual instinct is represented in the mind. Aggression is also called thanatos or our death force, represents our need to stay alive and our effort to our existence, our power and prosperity.
Primary and secondary processes In the ego, there are two ongoing processes. First there is the unconscious primary process where the thoughts are not organised in a coherent way, the feelings can shift, contradictions are not in conflict or are just not perceived that way and condensations arise. There is no logic and no time line. Lust is important for this process. By contrast, there is the conscious secondary process where strong boundaries are set and thoughts must be organised in a coherent way. Most unconscious thoughts originate here.
The reality principle Id impulses are not appropriate in civilised society, so society presses us to modify the pleasure principle in favour of the reality principle i.e. the requirements of the external world. Now ego has a difficult time to satisfy both the id and superego but it does not have to do it without help. The ego has some tools it can use in its job as mediator. These mediators are called ego defense mechanisms. When ego has a difficult time making both the id and superego happy, it will employ one of its defense mechanisms. For example, introjections, denial and projection are defense mechanisms associated with oral sadistic impulses whereas reaction formation such as shame and disgust usually develop in relation to anal impulses and pleasures.
Theory of anxiety and defense mechanisms Freud initially conceptualised anxiety as ‘dammed up libido’. It is resulted from accumulation of undischarged sexual tension caused by inadequate sexual activity in actual neurosis and by inhibitions due to repression in psychoneurosis. Later on development of structural model, Freud developed a new theory of second type of anxiety as signal anxiety. Either external or internal sources of danger can produce a signal that leads ego to use specific defense mechanism to reduce excitation.
The original traumatic situation is birth. During subsequent development, other characteristic danger situation arises. During the oral phase, because of the helplessness and the vulnerability of the infant, the major danger is loss of primary object e. g. mother. During phallic stage, the primary danger is threat of castration or body injury. After resolution of Oedipus conflict through identification, more mature anxiety occurs, often termed as superego anxiety. As the superego develops, primary danger becomes guilt.
Various defense mechanisms
(A) Neurotic defenses
Repression Most basic defense mechanism. People use to allay anxiety caused by conflicts. Repression is an active mental process by which person ‘forgets’ by pushing down into the unconscious any thoughts that arouse anxiety. It can be the unconscious memories, urges to continue to seek expression that may emerge in the form of accidents, slips as neurotic symptom.
Repression can range from momentary memory lapses to forgetting the details of a catastrophic event such as murder or an earthquake. Complete amnesia may even occur in cases where a person has experienced something very painful. What a person represses depends upon the cultural explanations and the particular development of the superego.
Rationalisation This defense mechanism substitutes an acceptable conscious motive for an unacceptable unconscious one. It is an attempt to deny one’s true motives (to oneself or others) by using a reason that is more logical or socially acceptable. Rationalisation helps to protect our sense of self-esteem.
Intellectualisation It is related to rationalisation but involves reasoning, avoiding unacceptable emotions by focusing on the intellectual aspect which protects against anxiety by repressing the emotions connected with an event.
Displacement In displacement, the motive remains unaltered but the person substitutes a different goal object for the original one. Displacement functions as a means by which the impulses can still be expressed but toward safer target. The classic use of displacement is the understanding of displaced aggression. If a person who is angry with his boss but cannot show it for fear of being fired may come home, bowl at the children and kick the pet dog.
Reaction formation Reversal of motives in another method by which people attempt to cope with the conflict. A motive that would arouse unbeatable anxiety if it was recognised, is converted to its opposite. This is equivalently an expression of the impulse in the negative. When instinctual conflict persists, reaction formation can become a character trait or a permanent basis as an osbessional character e.g. a person who was reared to believe that sex is evil, may be painfully anxious at every sexual feeling, and may organise crusades against sex in the media.
Isolation Splitting or separating an idea from the affect that accompanies it but is repressed. Social isolation refers to the absence of object relationship.
Controlling The excessive attempt to manage or regulate events or objects in the environment in the interest of minimising anxiety and solving internal conflicts.
Dissociation A temporary but drastic modification of character or personal identity to avoid emotional distress as in fugue stage or conversion reaction. Unacceptable feelings or affect are converted to physical symptom. In hysterical condition, these may be symbolic element to the symptom which hints at an underlying fantasy.
Externalisation Tendency to perceive the external world and in the external objects components of one’s own personality including instinctual impulses, moods attributes style of thinking.
Inhibition The unconsciously determined limitation of the specific ego functions singly or on combination to avoid anxiety arising out of conflict with instinctual impulses, superego or environmental forces or figures.
(B) Narcissistic defenses
Projection Blaming others or projection is a way of coping with one’s unwanted motives by shifting these on to someone else. Perceiving and reacting to unacceptable inner impulses and there derivatives as though they were outside the self. On psychotic level, this takes the form of frank delusion about external reality usually persecutory and includes both perception of one’s own feeling in another with subsequent acting on perception. In projection, anxiety is reduced by claiming another person actually has the unpleasant thought that he is thinking e.g. an insecure student may have a strong desire to cheat in the examination but his conscience does not allow doing so. He may then suspect that other students are cheating when they in fact do not.
Denial Avoiding the awareness of some painful data by negating sensory data i.e. abolishing external reality. Denies that threatening event even took place. At psychotic level, the denied reality may be replaced by fantasy or delusion. Denial has been shown to be effective in reducing the arousal caused by threatening situation.
Distortion Grossly reshaping external reality to suit inner needs including unrealistic megalomaniacal believes, hallucination, wish fulfilling delusion.
(C) Immature defenses
Regression A return to previous stage of development or functioning to avoid the anxieties or hostilities involved in later stages. Because of partial fixations in any of the psychosexual stages of development, regression can occur when an individual is faced with high levels of stress in their life. Repression is the giving up of mature problem solving methods in favour of child like approaches to fixing problems. This regression represents a way of relating to the world that was formerly effective. Regression is a way to try to recapture some childhood satisfaction.
Acting out Expressing an unconscious wish or an impulse through action to avoid being conscious of an accompanying affect.
Blocking Temporally or transiently inhibiting thinking. Here tension arises due to inhibition of impulses, affect or thought.
Hypochondriasis Exaggerating or overemphasising an illness for a purpose of evasion and regression. Bereavement, loneliness, aggression to others is transformed into self reproach, complains of pain, somatic illness and neurasthenia. In hypochondriasis, responsibility can be avoided instinctually drives may be warded off.
Introjection Introjection of a loved object involves the internalisation of the characteristics of the object with the goal of closeness and constant presence of the object. Anxiety consequent to separation out of ambivalence towards the object is thus nullified. Introjection of a feared object serves to avoid anxiety through internalising the aggressive characteristic of the object thereby putting the aggression under one’s control.
Passive aggressive behaviour Expressing aggression indirectly through passivity, masochism and turning against the self.
Somatisation Define conversion of psychic derivatives into bodily symptoms; tendency to react with somatic rather that psychological manifestations.
(D) Mature defenses
Altruism Constructive and instinctually gratifying service to others to undergo vicarious experience.
Anticipation The realistic anticipation of or planning for future inner discomfort. It is goal directed and implies careful planning or worrying and premature but realistic affective anticipation for dire consequences.
Asceticism Eliminating the pleasurable effects of experiences. Gratification is derived from renunciation as asceticism directed against all pleasure.
Humour The overt expression of feelings and thoughts with comedy without personal discomfort or without unpleasant effect on others. Allows one to bear and yet focus what is too terrible to be borne.
Sublimation The gratification of an impulse is retained but whose aim or object is changed from a socially objectionable one to a socially valued one. For Freud, it was the highest level of ego defense. Libidinal sublimation involves desexualisation of drives impulses and the planning of a value judgement that substitute what is valued by the superego or society. Sublimation allows instinct to be channelised that damned up or diverted e.g. aggression takes place through pleasurable games or sports.
Suppression The conscious or semiconscious decision to postpone attention to a conscious impulse or conflict. Suppression differs from repression and denial in that the undesirable feelings are available but deliberately ignored (unlike repression and denial where the person is completely unaware of these feelings).
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