Psychological Defense Mechanisms

Psychological defense mechanisms are psychological strategies that individuals typically use unconsciously to cope with unwanted or anxiety-provoking thoughts, emotions, and impulses. These mechanisms serve to protect the individual’s self-esteem and psychological integrity and to alleviate painful feelings such as anxiety, guilt, shame, and humiliation. They are usually automatic, habitual responses that operate outside the individual’s awareness.

Historical Development and Theoretical Foundations

The concept of psychological defense mechanisms was developed by Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalytic theory. The term was first used by Freud in his 1894 work titled "The Neuro-Psychoses of Defence" to describe the ego’s resistance to intolerable or distressing emotional experiences.

According to Freud’s theory, personality consists of three fundamental structures: the id, the ego, and the superego.

• Id is the most primitive part of personality and contains basic biological drives, desires, and impulses. It operates according to the pleasure principle and seeks immediate gratification of its needs. Drives such as aggression and sexuality are dominant in the id.

• Superego represents the social values, moral norms, and conscience of the personality. It distinguishes between right and wrong and directs the individual’s behavior toward moral goals and perfection.

• Ego functions as an intermediary between the id’s primitive impulses, the superego’s moral demands, and the realities of the external world. The ego employs defense mechanisms to maintain this balance and manage the anxiety generated by unacceptable impulses from the id.

Freud stated that managing anxiety constitutes the fundamental basis of existence and named the behaviors developed for this purpose “defense mechanisms.” The concept was later elaborated and systematized in detail by Freud’s daughter Anna Freud in her classic work "The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence." Anna Freud demonstrated that these mechanisms can serve as healthy adaptive responses but may become pathological when used excessively or rigidly.

Today, defense mechanisms are no longer confined to psychoanalytic approaches; they are widely accepted as explanatory frameworks for understanding both normal and abnormal behavior.

Functioning and Types of Defense Mechanisms

Defense mechanisms function not by confronting the actual source of a problem but by unconsciously distorting reality. Occasional use of these mechanisms can play a positive role in preserving mental health; however, their persistent and rigid application is considered abnormal or maladaptive and may lead to psychological pathology. From a developmental perspective, these mechanisms may be considered normal in childhood (e.g., denial), but their habitual use in adulthood is viewed as inappropriate.

Many defense mechanisms have been identified in the literature. The major ones and their various interpretations are as follows:

Repression (Repression/Suppression)

According to Freud, this is the fundamental defense mechanism. It involves the active unconscious process by which an individual pushes distressing or unpleasant thoughts, memories, and impulses out of conscious awareness. During this process, these thoughts are sealed off from related associations, preventing them from surfacing. Repressed content may manifest indirectly through dreams or symbolic behaviors. For example, a person may struggle to recall a traumatic childhood memory or may hoard money as if they believe they will never die, thereby repressing thoughts of death. This mechanism significantly influences other defense mechanisms.

Denial

Denial is the refusal or disregard of a reality that threatens the self or social approval. The individual acts as if the contrary is true. For instance, a person diagnosed with a serious illness may avoid seeing a doctor, a student facing expulsion may refuse to acknowledge the situation, or someone may be unable to accept the death of a loved one. Denial is generally regarded as one of the most primitive defense mechanisms.

Projection

Projection is the attribution of one’s own unacceptable feelings, thoughts, or impulses to others. The individual perceives their own flaws in other people. For example, a student who feels an urge to cheat on an exam, despite resisting it, may accuse classmates of cheating. Another example is a client who is actually angry but perceives their therapist as hostile and rejecting.

Displacement

Displacement involves redirecting an emotion or impulse from its original, threatening target to a safer or more acceptable one. Aggression is often the driving force in this mechanism. A classic example is a person who vents anger toward their boss at work by taking it out on their child at home. The story of Iblis in the Qur’an is also cited as an example: Iblis, angered by God, redirects his rage toward Adam and his descendants, which is interpreted as displacement.

Rationalization

Rationalization is the attempt to justify one’s behavior or failure by inventing plausible and socially acceptable reasons instead of acknowledging the true causes. This mechanism reduces the impact of disappointment and alleviates feelings of inadequacy. For example, a student who fails an exam due to not studying may claim they disliked the teacher’s grading. In the Qur’an, the idolaters’ justification of their worship—“We do this to draw nearer to Allah”—is interpreted as rationalization.

Reaction Formation

Reaction formation is when an individual behaves in a manner directly opposite to their unconscious, unacceptable desires or impulses. In this way, the person establishes firm barriers against their inner urges. For example, a young person who unconsciously feels anger toward their mother may display excessive affection toward her. In the Qur’an, the hypocrites’ declaration of faith despite their disbelief is interpreted within this mechanism.

Regression

Regression is the return to an earlier, more primitive stage of development when faced with a stressful or anxiety-provoking situation. The individual may exhibit behavioral patterns associated with a previous, more secure and gratifying phase of life. For example, a ten-year-old child may begin wetting the bed after the birth of a sibling, or an adult may cry when overwhelmed by social obligations.

Identification

Identification is the tendency to model oneself after another person or group. Individuals with low self-esteem often imitate the attitudes and behaviors of those they admire, respect, or even fear, in an effort to strengthen their own sense of self. A young girl who dresses and styles herself like a movie star is an example. In the Qur’an, the polytheists’ blind adherence to their ancestors’ ways is interpreted as identification with them.

Sublimation

Sublimation is the redirection of socially unacceptable primitive impulses—particularly sexual and aggressive ones—into socially acceptable or even valued channels. For example, a person with strong aggressive impulses may become a successful boxer, which is an example of sublimation. Similarly, the Qur’an’s guidance to steer people away from harmful and wrongful acts and toward positive behaviors such as compassion, love, and respect is viewed as functioning similarly to this mechanism.

Forgetting

In psychology, forgetting refers to the inability to retrieve information from long-term memory. As a defense mechanism, it is understood as a coping strategy to avoid recalling unpleasant memories or thoughts. For instance, a person may forget the name of someone they dislike or forget an appointment they do not wish to attend. In the Qur’an, this concept is addressed and condemned in the context of deliberately forgetting God, the Day of Judgment, or one’s promises.

Other Mechanisms

Escape is the tendency to avoid confronting a problem directly by physically or mentally withdrawing from the situation. This defense mechanism manifests through behaviors such as ignoring the problem, dismissing its importance, or inaction.

Fantasy, or wish fulfillment, involves finding comfort by satisfying unmet desires and impulses in an imaginary world. It is often observed in individuals who face failure and choose to retreat into fantasies rather than confront challenges.

Intellectualization occurs when a person addresses a highly emotional issue using an overly rational, analytical, and abstract language, deliberately excluding emotional content. Finally, the Undoing mechanism involves attempting to neutralize or compensate for a past behavior that caused guilt by performing a contrasting action.

Applications and Related Concepts

Psychological Counseling and Therapy

Defense mechanisms constitute an essential component of psychological counseling and therapy. Recognizing and appropriately addressing the defense mechanisms used by the client is critical for the progress of the therapeutic process. The process of addressing defense mechanisms typically occurs in three stages:

1. Relationship Stage: The therapist helps the client become aware of their defensive responses and feel understood.
2. Integration Stage: The client comes to understand why and how they use defense mechanisms and is confronted with inconsistencies in their behavior.
3. Integration Stage: The client develops more constructive and functional behaviors, replacing old defensive patterns and gaining self-control.

Defense Mechanisms in the Psychology of Religion

In the psychology of religion, defense mechanisms are examined in relation to the concept of “religious coping.” While there are similarities between the two, important distinctions exist:

• Similarities: Both aim to preserve the individual’s psychological balance in stressful situations. In particular, emotion-focused coping strategies and the religious tendency to “leave the outcome to a higher power” seek psychological comfort rather than altering reality, much like defense mechanisms.

• Differences: Defense mechanisms are generally unconscious, automatic, more primitive, and reality-distorting processes. Coping strategies, by contrast, involve conscious effort, self-regulation, and knowledge-based approaches that seek realistic, problem-oriented solutions. Religious coping is nourished by sacred sources (beliefs, practices), whereas defense mechanisms originate from the individual’s unconscious.

In this context, a religious principle such as the Islamic belief in “qadar” (divine decree) can be employed in different ways. When an individual uses qadar as an excuse to avoid responsibility, it functions as a defense mechanism (e.g., rationalization or projection), termed “fatalism.” However, when an individual does their utmost and then entrusts the outcome to God, acting with awareness of their servitude in the face of hardship, this attitude is regarded as a healthy form of religious coping.