Review Question - QID 215051

This man who has been calling his wife worthless where in fact he himself has lost significant self-worth due to his recent prominent job loss is using the ego defense of projection.

Projection is when individuals attribute unacceptable internal feelings to someone else. One of the most commonly cited examples is a cheating partner accusing the other partner of being unfaithful. Another common example is a manager treating his employees unfairly, but feeling and saying that they are the ones mistreating him.

Incorrect Answers:
Answer 1: Acting out is when individuals use actions to express unacceptable feelings or thoughts, such as an angry person throwing a temper tantrum.

Answer 2: Displacement is when an individual takes the feelings out on a neutral third party. While the man is displacing his stress at losing his job on his wife, his feeling that she and others are the ones being hostile is more consistent with projection.

Answer 3: Dissociation is when an individual exhibits a drastic temporary change in behavior. This can range from either acting like a completely different person to staring into the distance without responding to prompting from others. This patient's loss of temper is not consistent with dissociation.

Answer 5: Reaction formation is when individuals react to an unacceptable feeling or thought by doing the opposite. A commonly cited example is a person with hypersexual thoughts joining the clergy and taking a vow of celibacy. This man is not exhibiting reaction formation.

Bullet Summary:
Projection is an unhealthy ego defense when an individual attributes a feeling or thought that the individual is having to someone else.