By Eva Gregersen
The notion of defense mechanisms is central to the field of psychodynamic theory as a whole. Their discovery is widely credited to Freud and seen as among his most important discoveries (although as others have noted, Nietzsche really beat Freud to many of these realizations). In this overview, I list 15 different defense mechanisms and offer examples of how they play out in practice.
I also specify which personality styles are linked to each defense mechanism. We all draw on a variety of different defense mechanisms when our worldview is threatened, however, there tends to be a relation between one’s preferred mode of defense and one’s personality style.
Rationalization
Rationalization means coming up with reasons that justify why a problematic behavior is acceptable after all.
Example: “I cheated on my girlfriend, but she didn’t want to have sex the last time we saw each other, so therefore it’s okay for me to have my needs met elsewhere.”
Indicative of: Narcissistic or Sadistic personality style.
Introjection
Introjection means adopting other people’s opinions as if they were one’s own.
Example: “My boyfriend cheated on me, but he says, ‘That’s just what men do,’ so therefore it’s okay.”
Indicative of: Dependent personality style.
Dissociation
Dissociation means failing to take responsibility for one’s own actions.
Example: “I cheated on my girlfriend, but it happened because the moment was so intense that I got carried away. It was the circumstances that made me do it; I didn’t really mean to cheat, so therefore it’s okay.”
Indicative of: Histrionic personality style.
Projection
Projection means ascribing one’s own actions and motivations to other people.
Example: “I cheated on my boyfriend, but I’m sure he has been thinking about cheating on me, so therefore it’s okay.”
Indicative of: Paranoid, Antisocial, or Sadistic personality styles.
Asceticism
Asceticism means punishing oneself. It is employed as a defense when the person blames themselves because they fear that others might degrade them and they want to at least be the first one to do it. In this way they protect themselves from having any more optimistic expectations crushed.
Example: “My boyfriend cheated on me, but it’s my own fault because I’m so unattractive and boring to be around. No wonder he cheated on me.”
Indicative of: Depressive personality style.
Displacement
Displacement is also known as “kicking the cat,” i.e. holding someone other than the perpetrator accountable for the perpetrator’s action. Displacement usually signifies that the perpetrator is perceived as ‘too powerful’ for the person to be able to vent their anger at them directly – they dare not blame e.g. their boss, parent or partner, so they “kick the cat.”
Example: “My boyfriend cheated on me, but it’s really the other girl’s fault for coming on to him even though she knew he was in a relationship. She is such a bitch!”
Indicative of: Negativistic personality style.
Regression
Regression means reverting to childlike behaviors.
Example: Uncontrolled yelling and screaming, powerless kicking of furniture, assuming the fetal position.
Indicative of: Borderline personality style.
Reaction Formation
Reaction formation means putting up a facade that projects the opposite of what one really feels, e.g. presenting oneself as calm and understanding when inside one is really hurt and angry. Reaction formation occurs because the person secretly blames themselves for having such “inappropriate” feelings. By using reaction formation, the person can thus avoid facing those feelings.
Example: “My girlfriend cheated on me. Apparently that was something she had to explore, and that’s fine by me. It doesn’t threaten our relationship, and I don’t have a problem with it.”
Indicative of: Compulsive personality style.
Magnification
Magnification means inflating experiences either positively or negatively until all sense of proportion and nuance is lost. The payoff is that one gains in importance by being at the center of the extraordinary events.
Example: “My boyfriend cheated on me! My life is ruined! The world has stopped turning! Let me tell you the incredible story – you never heard anything like it!”
Indicative of: Hypomanic personality style.
Exaggeration
Exaggeration means seeing the threatening experience as fitting into a tragic narrative of past injustices and dwelling on the pain not just from the present experience but from all those other painful experiences so as to increase, rather than diminish, one’s distress. The payoff lies in refocusing on a familiar source of pain that can distract from the fresh pain of the new one. In some cases the person’s aggrieved response may also prompt others to shut down the new source of pain, so as to spare the “martyr” additional suffering.
Example: “My boyfriend cheated on me. He abuses my devotion, just like everyone else in my life who has hurt me and taken me for granted, like my mother did when I was a child and like my boss does every day at work. I suffer so much!”
Indicative of: Masochistic personality style.
Denial
Denial is the most primitive of all defense mechanisms and it is the flat-out denial of what is obviously true. It is often used by alcoholics and children, e.g. “No, I haven’t touched a drop!” or “No, I haven’t been in the cookie jar!”
Example: “No, I didn’t cheat on you!”
Indicative of: If the person is manipulative and resourceful, denial is indicative of the Antisocial personality style. If the person is simply powerless, i.e. lacking a more refined defense, denial is indicative of an undifferentiated or primitive personality (what is colloquially referred to as “having no personality”).
Acting Out
Acting out means discharging tensions directly instead of repressing or refashioning them in order to give them expression in a more civilized and temperate manner. Acting out on a small scale consists in giving voice to aggressive or offensive thoughts as they occur instead of reining them in, whereas acting out on a large scale involves explosive outbursts during which the person seems intimidating because in that moment they are their hostility, caring only about giving the other person “what they had coming.”
Example: “You cheated on me?! You worthless bitch! I’m going to kill you, crush you; you will never lead a normal life again!”
Indicative of: Antisocial personality style.
Intellectualization
Intellectualization means describing upsetting experiences in a clinical and factual way that represses all emotional contents associated with the event.
Example: “My girlfriend cheated on me. On the evening she went out, she was wearing a pink blouse. She told me that the name of the man she slept with was Allan. The bar where they hooked up was called ‘Brian’s Bar’, I’ve been there once, they serve good beer…”
Indicative of: Schizoid personality style.
Undoing
Undoing is signified by bizarre and idiosyncratic mannerisms, fragmented sentences and a wavering gaze, all of which give the impression that the person is ‘undoing’ their internal mental representation of the traumatic experience.
Example: “You cheated on me? That… That’s… Well I guess… That… That… Well. … [silence]”
Indicative of: Schizotypal personality style.
Fantasy
Fantasy is retreating to the controlled environment of one’s imagination in order to process threatening events in a passive way that does not risk incurring additional pain.
Example: Imagining taking graphically violent revenge on one’s cheating partner. Another example: Imagining being rescued from a bad situation by a loving caregiver.
Indicative of: Avoidant personality style.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The correlations between personality styles and defense mechanisms in this article are based on the work of Theodore Millon.