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defense mechanisms  

Definition

  • Defense mechanisms refer to patterns of thinking and behaving as ways to adapt and adjust to difficult life circumstances. Freud (1901) first described these thinking and behavior patterns as being abnormal because he believed that they were ways in which people deluded themselves to deal with conflicts between id impulses and superego constraints and punishments. [Source: Encyclopedia of School Psychology; Defense Mechanisms]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/defense_mechanisms

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