Repression 

Explantion   

    Unacceptable or

        unpleasant impulses

   are pushed back

         into the unconscious 

 Example    

       A woman is unable

to recall that

   she was  raped.  

Regression

Explanation  

   People behave as if

they were at an

 eariler stage

 of development

Examples                     A boss has a

      temper tantrum when

  an employee makes

 a mistake.

Displacement

Explanation

      The expression of an unwanted

 feeling or thought is redirected

 from a more threatening,

         powerful person to

 a weaker one

Example   

          A brother yells at

                  his younger sister after

           a teacher gives him

 a bad grade.

Rationalization

Explanation                 

   People provide self-justifying

              explanation in the place of the

 actual, but threatening,

 reason for their behavior

Example              

 A student who goes out drinking

 the night before the big test,

 rationalizes his behavior

 by saying the test

isn't all that important.

Denial

Explanation          

   People refuse to

            accept or acknowledge

          an anxiety-producing

         piece of information

Example                 

     A student refuses

     to believe that he

         has flunked a course.

Projection

Explanation                 

  People attribute unwanted

impulses and feelings

 to someone else.

Example               

       A man who is

 unfaithful to his

and feels guilty

suspects that his

wife is unfaithful.

Sublimation

Explanation                  

               People divert unwanted impulses

 into socially approved

                 thoughts, feelings,  or behaviors 

Example          

          A person with strong

           feelings of aggression

       becomes a soldier.

Reaction formation

Explanation 

                   Unconscious impulses

              are expressed as

          their opposite

             in consciousness

Example    

       A mother who

         unconsciously resents her child

 acts in an overly loving

 way toward the child.