Final answer:
Displacement is a defense mechanism involving the transfer of unacceptable impulses onto a less threatening target, functioning to reduce anxiety by allowing the person a safer outlet to express these emotions. Examples abound in everyday life, such as displacing anger from a supervisor onto a family member.
Step-by-step explanation:
Displacement is a defense mechanism that involves directing unacceptable impulses at a less threatening target. This process occurs when emotions or desires are transferred from a person or object that causes anxiety to a person or object that is less threatening. For instance, a person who is upset with their boss might refrain from expressing this at work, due to the potential consequences, but later might express their anger towards a family member, which is perceived as a safer outlet.
Defense mechanisms are largely unconscious protective behaviors designed to reduce anxiety. According to Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, defense mechanisms like displacement, reaction formation, and projection help the ego cope with the demands of reality, the superego, and the id. While the reaction formation is a defense mechanism in which an individual behaves in a manner opposite to their actual feelings, projection involves attributing one's own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to others. These mechanisms operate without our conscious awareness and can distort reality.