Therapeutic Comm Q 9
A patient being seen in the emergency department immediately after being sexually assaulted appears calm and controlled. The nurse analyzes this behavior as indicating which defense mechanism?
A. Denial
B. Projection
C. Rationalization
D. Intellectualization
Correct Answer: A. Denial
Denial is the refusal to admit to a painful reality and maybe a response by a victim of sexual abuse. In this case, the patient is not acknowledging the trauma of the assault either verbally or nonverbally. If a situation is just too much to handle, the person may respond by refusing to perceive it or by denying that it exists.
Option B: Projection is transferring one’s internal feelings, thoughts, and unacceptable ideas and traits to someone else. Projection is a psychological defense mechanism proposed by Anna Freud in which an individual attributes unwanted thoughts, feelings, and motives onto another person.
Option C: Rationalization is justifying the unacceptable attributes of oneself. Rationalization is a defense mechanism proposed by Anna Freud involving a cognitive distortion of “the facts” to make an event or an impulse less threatening.
Option D: Intellectualization is the excessive use of abstract thinking or generalizations to decrease painful thinking. In psychology, this behavior pattern is referred to as intellectualization, a defense mechanism, which according to Freud involves engrossing oneself so deeply in the reasoning aspect of a situation that you completely disregard the emotional aspect that is involved.