Theory of Defense Mechanism
feelings which are the result of conflict are called anxiety. Since being anxious is uncomfortable and disturbing, people tend to find a way to get rid of it. The way
to cope the anxiety as the respond of the conflict is called defense mechanism Braun and Linder, 1979: 410. As the basic nature of human being, they defend
themselves when the conflict seems offensive to them. In addition, defense mechanism has a significant role in en
shapingone’s personality. For that reason, defense mechanism is considered to be one of the fundamental element of
psychoanalytic theory. Moreover, John Janeway Conger proposes that unconscious thoughts, feelings or impulses that one cannot admit contribute in
revealing one’s defense mechanism Conger, 1977: 79. In fact, there are numerous types of defense mechanism. However, not all
of them are explained here. There are five types of defense mechanism provided in this part. According to Psychology in Action, there are some types of Freudian
defense mechanisms Huffman and Vernoy, 2000: 480. All of them are combined and developed by modern experts. The compilation of the type of defense
mechanism is elaborated below: a.
Repression Repression happens when an individual tries to protects himself from
painful or dangerous thoughts, such as anxiety provoking, disturbing, unacceptable thoughts or feelings by avoiding them entering consciousness
Huffman and Vernoy, 2000: 480. It is the most common and basic defense mechanism that people often operate Huffman and Vernoy, 2000: 478. Often, it
is employed unconsciously since it may result in the reduction of pain and PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
anxiety. Moreover, in repression, the individual refuse to recall a painful event or deny the reality; his thought or bad memory of the event, in fact, is removed from
his consciousness by forces which are beyond his control Conger, 1977: 80.
b. Denial
Denial is defined as the way to “protect oneself from an unpleasant reality by refusing to perceiv
e it” Huffman and Vernoy, 2000: 480. An individual who does denial as his self-defense mechanism would like to protect himself of being
guilty, he is not willing to claim that what he has done is wrong.
c. Displacement
Displacement is a type of defense me chanism when one “substitutes a less
threatening object for the original object of impulse” Huffman and Vernoy, 2000: 480. In displacement, an individual is not able to express his anxiety to the true
source that gives him unpleasant feeling since it is possibly to threat him. Hence, he finds a less threatening object as the replacement of the true source to express
his anxiety.
d. Projection
According to Huffman and Vernoy , projection is “unacceptable motives or
impulses that are transferred to others” 2000: 480. Those unacceptable motives or impulses can be transmitted into other forms; it can be reflected towards a
particular person, feeling or thing. Conger states that when one responds projection, “his ability to see the world truly, accurately in some degree is
diminished” Conger, 1977: 82. It is because he cannot express his anxiety PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
directly to the entity that makes him anxious. He transfers his anxiety into another form of impulses. Therefore, the overuse of projection might blur the reality.
e. Regression
Regression happens when an individual behaves “in a way appropriate to an earlier age or level of development” in order to get rid of anxiety Huffman and
Vernoy, 2000: 480. When regression is employed, one unconsciously brings back the childhood habbit at the present time even he is already an adult.
Adolescence can be a very stressful time when people begin gaining independence and discovering who they are. The teen years are when people
establish new friendships and also when they find that their body has begun to develop. When a person enters puberty, it can be a very stressful, confusing and
frightening period. In that case to defence their awareness of being adult they start to exhibit their childhood behaviours. This act in defence mechanism is called
Regression. “Regression is the reversion to an earlier stage of development in the face
of unacceptable thoughts or impulses” Freud, 1920: 121. For an example an adolescent who is overwhelmed with fear, anger and growing sexual impulses
might become clingy and start exhibiting earlier childhood behaviours he has long since overcome, such as bedwetting. An adult may regress when under a great
deal of stress, refusing to leave their bed and engage in normal everyday activities. In this case it means that not eating was a way of repressing sexual
thoughts, not eating avoids development of an adult body, not eating avoids PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
menstruation, not eating avoids having breasts, hips, and not eating avoids the worries that arrive with adulthood Hilde, 1973: 29.
According to psychoanalytic theory, operating defense mechanism while dealing with conflict is a common psychology phenomenon, even considered to
be adaptive Cramer, 2009: 10. Nonetheless, the overuse of defense mechanism can be maladaptive since when one uses it excessively, it might cause serious
psychological problems Huffman and Vernoy, 2000: 478. The psychological problem can be detected through several general symptoms, such as lack of food
and sleep, noticeable behavioral changes, e.g. unexplained depression and sudden lack of concern about physical appearance Mferrington, 2011.
Among those five types of defense mechanism, only three which are used in this study. It is because Francesca does not employ all of them. People do not
necessarily use only one type of defense mechanism; it is normal to apply different kinds of defense mechanism throughout life Cramer, 2009: 10.
Nevertheless, it is still necessary to review the others, so there is no misunderstanding.