Question

An attorney who throws books and furniture around the office after losing a case is referred to the psychiatric nurse in the law firm's employee assistance program. The nurse knows that the client's behavior most likely represents the use of which defense mechanism?

1) reaction formation
2) intellectualization
3) regression
4) projection

Answer 1

The attorney throwing items around exhibits regression, which is reverting to immature behaviors when faced with stress.

Step-by-step explanation:

The behavior of the attorney who throws books and furniture around after losing a case most likely represents the use of the regression defense mechanism. Regression is a defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety returns to a more immature behavioral stage. This is seen in the case of the attorney who reverts to child-like tantrums of physical outbursts, as an inability to cope with the feelings of defeat and frustration in a mature way.