WBR0070
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| Author | [[PageAuthor::Ogheneochuko Ajari, MB.BS, MS [1] (Reviewed by Yazan Daaboul)]] |
|---|---|
| Exam Type | ExamType::USMLE Step 1 |
| Main Category | MainCategory::Behavioral Science/Psychiatry |
| Sub Category | SubCategory::General Principles |
| Prompt | [[Prompt::A 22-year-old male student visits his primary care physician for the evaluation of chronic alcohol dependence. He praises the values of abstinence and engages in a prolonged discussion about how the government should have legislations to ban the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. This patient is displaying which defense mechanism?]] |
| Answer A | AnswerA::Rationalization |
| Answer A Explanation | [[AnswerAExp::Rationalization is applying a string of reasons as justification for why the unacceptable is acceptable in the current instance. It is usually an excuse. For example, a guy after being refused a date by a lady begins to claim that he wasn’t attracted to the lady in the first place. This is an example of an immature defense mechanism.]] |
| Answer B | AnswerB::Reaction formation |
| Answer B Explanation | [[AnswerBExp::Reaction formation is a process whereby a feeling or an action is replaced by an opposite one. This is an unconscious or involuntary reaction to a prior behavioral pattern. This is an example of an immature defense mechanism.]] |
| Answer C | AnswerC::Displacement |
| Answer C Explanation | [[AnswerCExp::Displacement is a redirected emotion or phobia. The source of the emotion stays the same, but the target changes. For example, a woman divorced by her husband punishes her son as the reason why the husband left her. This is an example of an immature defense mechanism.]] |
| Answer D | AnswerD::Denial |
| Answer D Explanation | AnswerDExp::Denial is when an individual asserts that a true situation is not so. A common example is reacting to the death of a loved one by asserting it is untrue for the loved one to be dead. This is an example of an immature defense mechanism. |
| Answer E | AnswerE::Sublimation |
| Answer E Explanation | [[AnswerEExp::Sublimation is moving an unacceptable impulse into an acceptable channel. Example, a notorious street thug joins the local gym to train in order to become a professional boxer. In contrast to the other answer options, sublimation is a mature defense mechanism.]] |
| Right Answer | RightAnswer::B |
| Explanation | [[Explanation::Defense mechanisms are automatic psychological processes that may have a protective role in alleviating internal and external stressors, and anxiety. In this vignette, reaction formation is being displayed by the subject to avoid his true emotions (i.e. his wish to consume alcohol). As a result, the subject keeps potentially threatening feelings, memories, wishes, or fears out of awareness and assumes an opposite position.
Defense mechanisms may be classified as mature or immature. Generally, most mechanisms are immature except 6:
Educational Objective: Reaction formation is an immature defense mechanism whereby a feeling or an action is replaced by an opposite one. |
| Approved | Approved::Yes |
| Keyword | |
| Linked Question | Linked:: |
| Order in Linked Questions | LinkedOrder:: |