Review Question - QID 107045

The male, who has seen his father physically abuse his mother, also begins to abuse his own wife. The male is displaying the immature ego defense of identification.

Ego defenses are unconscious processes that prevent undesirable feelings such as anxiety or depression. Ego defenses are divided into two categories - immature (more primitive) and mature (less primitive). In the scenario above, the male is displaying identification which is an immature ego defense. Identification is when an individual imitates the behavior (good or bad) of a more powerful person.

Finzi et al. review the ego defenses amongst children that are abused, neglected, and non-maltreated. They found that children who were abused and neglected as compared to non-abused/neglected children scored higher for ego defenses for regression, denial, splitting, and projection.

Levit examined the differences in ego defenses between gender in adolescent teens by surveying 56 high school students (31 males and 25 females) using the Berm Sex Role Inventory and Defense Mechanism Inventory. The study found that males scored higher on projection and aggression defenses; whereas, the females scored higher on "turning against the self" defense.

Incorrect Answers:
Answer 1: Acting out is an immature ego defense where one uses actions to express unacceptable feelings and thoughts.
Answer 2: Dissociation is an immature ego defense when there is a temporary drastic change in behavior in an individual.
Answer 4: Reaction formation is an immature ego defense such that one replaces an unwanted idea of feeling with its opposite.
Answer 5: Splitting is an immature ego defense such that one believes that people are either all good or all bad.