The Development of Defense Mechanisms: Theory, Research, and Assessment

ISBN-13: 9781461390275 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 338 str.

Phebe Cramer

Opis

The idea that the human mind-that faculty of the intellect which we use to define and discern the truth-might also be used to deceive itself is not new. The classic orator Demosthenes warned of this possibility in 349 B.C. when he wrote that "Nothing is more easy than to deceive one's self; what a man wishes he generally believes to be true." 1 Even Jean Jacques Rousseau, who suggested the possibility of man as "noble savage," alerts us to this paradox, when he writes "Jamais fa nature ne nous trompe; c'est toujours nous qui nous trompons" ("Nature never deceives us; it is always we who deceive ourselves). 2 But it was Sigmund Freud who placed this idea firmly into the field of psychopathology and then, later, into a general psychological theory. According to Freud, understanding the function of a defense mechanism means not only fathoming the origin of pathological symptoms but also comprehending a model of the mind that includes both conscious and unconscious mental processes. From this initial focus on the general process of defense, Freud and his followers went on to identify various forms this process might take, with the result that today we have a list of 3 more than 37 defense mechanisms described in the literature.

Spis treści

I. Theory.- 1 The Concept of Defense.- Defense mechanisms, defense behavior, and consciousness.- History of the concept of defense.- The motives for defense: Anxiety, guilt, and loss.- Controversial issues.- Defenses as part of normal development.- Successful versus unsuccessful defenses.- Concluding remarks.- 2 The Concept of Defense Mechanism Development.- The conception of defense mechanism development.- A developmental continuum of defenses.- The development of individual defenses.- Origins of defense mechanisms.- Precursors and prototypes.- Case study.- The developmental course of defense mechanisms.- Research findings: Developmental changes in defense use.- Defense mechanisms and age.- Defense mechanisms and ego development.- Defense mechanisms and cognitive development.- Defense mechanisms and psychosocial development.- Developmental changes in the understanding of defense mechanisms.- Summary of developmental research studies.- Concluding remarks.- 3 Denial.- Components of denial.- Denial as seen in folktales.- Perceptual denial.- The imposition of a personal fantasy.- Denial and pathology.- The development of two forms of denial.- Perceptual denial.- Denial through fantasy.- Another folktale.- Clinical examples.- The use of denial in projective stories.- Concluding remarks.- 4 Projection.- Components of projection.- Projection as seen in folktales.- The generalization of psychological attributes.- Attribution of responsibility.- Projection proper.- The development of projection.- Another folktale.- Clinical example.- The use of projection in projective stories.- Concluding remarks.- 5 Identification.- Components of identification.- Identification as seen in folktales.- The development of identification.- The development of primary identifications.- The development of secondary identifications.- Examples of identification in world literature.- Henry IV.- Don Quijote.- Clinical example.- The use of identification in projective stories.- Concluding remarks.- II. Research: A Review of the Literature.- 6 Approaches to Measuring Defenses: The Defense Mechanism Inventory.- Description of the DMI.- Reliability.- Validity.- Content validity.- Concurrent validity.- The relationship between DMI scales and cognitive measures.- Field dependence-independence.- Memory constriction.- The relationship between DMI scales and clinical measures.- Questionnaire pathology.- Clinically diagnosed pathology.- The relationship between DMI scales and subject variables.- Sex.- Sexual orientation.- Age, education, birth order, and ethnic group.- Reactions to experimental intervention.- Predicting the response to intervention.- Measuring intervention effectiveness.- Conclusion.- 7 Other Approaches to Measuring Defenses: Derived Questionnaires, Self-Report Inventories, and Self-Other Ratings.- Defense measures derived from existing personality inventories.- Byrne’s R-S scale.- Haan’s MMPI-based defense scales.- Joffee and Naditch’s CPI-based scales.- Other MMPI-based scales.- Self-report measures.- The Life-Style Index.- The Defense Style Questionnaire.- Self-report measures for children.- Other measures.- Comment.- Self-other ratings.- Heilbrun’s work.- Additional self-other studies.- Concluding remarks.- 8 Other Approaches to Measuring Defenses: Story Completion and Clinical Interviews.- Story completion measures of defense.- The Defense Preference Inquiry.- Other story completion measures.- Studies of defense understanding.- Measures of defense derived from clinical interviews.- Hackett and Cassem: Denial.- Further studies with clinical patients.- The Ego Profile Scale.- Haan’s studies.- Vaillant’s work.- The Defense Mechanism Rating Scales.- Concluding remarks.- 9 Other Approaches to Measuring Defenses: Projective Tests and Perceptual Defense Paradigms.- Measures of defense in projective tests.- The Children’s Apperception Test (CAT).- The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).- The Rorschach.- Measures of defense in perceptual defense paradigms.- The Defense Mechanism Test.- The Meta-Contrast Technique.- Conclusion.- 10 Summary of Research: Defense Mechanisms and Their Relationship to Other Psychological Variables.- Defense mechanisms and personality characteristics.- Defense mechanisms and psychopathology.- Defense mechanisms and physical pathology.- Defense mechanisms and gender or gender orientation.- Defense mechanisms and family background.- Defense mechanisms and relationship with mother.- Defense mechanisms and relationship with father.- Defense mechanisms and cognitive functioning.- Defense mechanisms and occupations/nationality.- Conclusion.- 11 Experimental Studies of Defense.- Intervention to arouse a specific emotion.- Intervention to provide a threat to self-esteem.- Intervention to introduce an unpleasant physical stimulus.- Intervention to provide instructions or modeling.- Concluding remarks.- III. A New Approach to Measuring Defenses.- 12 The Defense Mechanism Manual.- Assessment of Denial with the DMM.- Scoring categories for Denial.- Using the scoring categories for Denial.- Assessment of Projection with the DMM.- Scoring categories for Projection.- Using the scoring categories for Projection.- Assessment of Identification with the DMM.- Scoring categories for Identification.- Using the scoring categories for Identification.- Concluding remarks.- 13 Psychometric Features.- Reliability.- Issues.- Reliability based on the subject’s responses.- Split-half method.- Reliability based on the consistency of observer’s ratings of subjects’ responses.- Validity.- Criterion-related validity.- Construct validity.- Summary.- 14 Research Findings.- DMM research studies with children and adolescents.- DMM studies with college students.- DMM studies with psychiatric patients.- Summary.- References.- Notes.- Appendix: Manual for Scoring Defenses.- Author Index.