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.

4. Social Learning Theory

In his book Social Learning, Albert Bandura explains that social learning theory proposes that people learn from one another through observation, imitation, and modeling. Pe ople learn through observing others’ behaviour, attitudes, and outcomes of those behaviours. He says, Most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action. 1977: 4. Social learning theory explains human behaviour in terms of constant shared interaction between cognitive, behavioural, and environmental influences. Psychologists explain that the theory of social learning mostly can be seen from children selecting a role model to admire or look up to. They identify with this person, as they can perceive a similarity between themselves. Children are seen to imitate the behaviour of the model more frequently if the model is the same sex. Children observe the behavior of their selected role model and by watching the model’s behavior, children learn a new behavior.

5. Theory of Eating Disorders

Hilde Bruch in her book Eating Disorders: Obesity, Anorexia Nervosa, and the Person Within says that disturbed mother-child interactions can lead to produce individuals with eating disorders. Bruch concluded that parents of eating disordered children may either respond to their children effectively or ineffectively. Effective parents are able to accurately attend to their childrens biological and emotional needs, giving them food when they cry and comfort when they are in fear. Ineffective parents, failed to attend to their childrens internal needs, and failed to correctly interpret the childrens actual needs and circumstances Bruch, 1973: 32. Children receiving such ineffective parenting may grow up confused and unaware of their own internal needs and having difficulty identifying their own emotions. According to Hilde Bruch, one of the most influential factors in anorexia is linked to Socio cultural factors. Anorexia nervosa can be developed because of