Question

A student scolded by the headmaster, may hit his peers in the school. This is an example of:

• A. Displacement
• B. Regression
• C. Sublimation
• D. Projection

Answer 1

Answer:

A. Displacement

Displacement is a defense mechanism in psychology where a person redirects negative feelings from one thing to another. It's an unconscious process that people use to release or prevent negative thoughts and emotions. 

Here are some examples of displacement: 

• An employee who is yelled at by their manager may yell at their spouse later that night. 

• Someone who is angry at their boss but can't express it directly may take out their frustration on a family member or slam a door when they get home. 

• Someone may eat to cope with negative emotions, which is known as emotional eating. 

Displacement can be helpful for a person's emotional state, but it can lead to relationship problems if it happens frequently. A study published in the National Library of Medicine suggests that people with immature defenses like displacement may be more likely to have an alcohol dependence. 

The concept of displacement originated in Freud's theory of dream formation. In Freud's theory, displacement is a mechanism of dream distortion, which is the process of transforming the unconscious content of a dream into the manifest content that the dreamer is aware of. 

A similar defense mechanism to displacement is sublimation, which is when someone displaces unacceptable emotions into constructive and socially acceptable behaviors.