Question

Todd was physically abused up until the age of 8. he is now 40 years old and has absolutely no memories of the early abuse that he experienced. according to freud, todd may be unconsciously dealing with the potential anxiety related to his abuse using the defense mechanism of:

Answer 1

Repression - Todd had repressed his feelings of anxiety throughout the years. According to Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytical theory, a lot of our behavious are a manifestation of our subconscious thoughts and memories.Due to internalized feelings of anxiety, the repression keeps developing in Todd's mind. He uses this repression as a defense mechanism to cope with his anxiety. This is a kind of motivated forgetting, where the motivation is basically unconscious.