The Miniature Guide to The Human Mind (Thinker's Guide Library) by Linda Elder & Richard Paul

Author:Linda Elder & Richard Paul
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Foundation for Critical Thinking
Published: 2007-01-02T14:00:00+00:00

Defense Mechanisms of the Mind

The human mind routinely engages in unconscious processes that are egocentrically motivated, and that strongly influence our behavior. When functioning egocentrically, we seek to get what we want. We see the world from a narrow self-serving perspective. Yet we also see ourselves as driven by purely rational motives. We therefore disguise our egocentric motives as those that appear rational. This disguise necessitates self-deception.

Self-deception is achieved by means of defense mechanisms. The concept of defense mechanisms was first developed by Sigmund and Anna Freud. Defense mechanisms overlap and interrelate with intellectual pathologies as well as with informal fallacies. Here are some of the most common defense mechanisms:

Denial: When a person refuses to believe undisputable evidence or facts in order to maintain a favorable self-image or favored set of beliefs. A basketball player, for example, may deny that there are any real flaws in his game in order to maintain an image of himself as highly skilled at basketball. A “patriot” may deny—in the face of clear-cut evidence—that his country ever violates human rights or acts unjustly.

Identification: When a person takes to himself those qualities and ideals he admires in other people and institutions. Through socio-centric identification he elevates his sense of worth. Examples: a football fan experiencing an inner sense of triumph when his team wins, a parent experiencing a triumph in the success of his children, a citizen feeling elevated by the triumph of his nation’s armed forces.

Projection: When a person attributes to another person what he or she feels or thinks in order to avoid unacceptable thoughts and feelings. A wife who doesn’t love her husband may accuse him of not loving her (when he really does) in order to unconsciously deal with her dishonesty in the relationship.

Repression: When thoughts, feelings or memories unacceptable to the individual are prevented from reaching consciousness. This often occurs when memories are considered too painful to remember. It can also be a form of “forgetting” because the person doesn’t want to remember something unpleasant (such as a dental appointment).

Rationalization: When a person gives reasons (sometimes good reasons) for his behavior, but not the true reasons, because his actions result from unconscious motives he cannot consciously accept. The father who beats his children may rationalize his behavior by saying he is doing it for his children’s “own good,” so they will become more disciplined, when the true reason is that he has lost control of his behavior.

Stereotyping: When a person lumps people together based on some common characteristic, forming a rigid, biased perception of the group and the individuals in the group. One form of stereotyping comes from cultural bias wherein the person assumes that practices and beliefs in his culture are superior to those in other cultures simply by virtue of being part of his culture. He takes his group to be the measure of all groups and people.

Scapegoating: When a person attempts to avoid criticism of himself by blaming another person, group or thing for his or her own mistakes or faults.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.