Behavioral Science

Psychoanalytic Theory 33
CLINICAL VIGNETTES
A middle-aged woman is in a grocery store. She goes to the bulk candy section and
sees gummy bears—her favorite. Part of her mind says she should grab a handful
and stuff them in her mouth. Which part of the mind is telling her this?
The id
A man and a woman are in a car accident. Neither has insurance and both cars are
totaled, and both of them lose their licenses. The woman goes home and says
“Well, at least I wasn’t driving a Ferrari—that would have been much more
expensive.” The man says “I hit her because I was swerving to avoid something
else. I should have had my brakes balanced.” What defense mechanisms are they
using and are they mature or immature defenses?
The woman is using humor—a mature mechanism. The man is using rationalization—
an immature mechanism.
A medical student is mistreated by his professor, but later tells his fellow medical
students that the professor is “great”! What defense mechanism is he using?
Reaction formation
A medical student’s dog dies. When he is consoled by fellow students, he states,
“He was really old and I was expecting him to go soon anyway. Most large dogs
only live until they are 10.” What defense mechanism is he using?
Intellectualization
A medical student fails the last anatomy exam after he studied 12 hours per day in
the corner of the library for 1 month. He tells his friend, “I think I failed because
I didn’t study enough. Besides, I am not really going to use anatomy later on.”
What defense mechanism is he using?
Rationalization