Question

Although Tim has many fond memories of his college days, he only vaguely remembers the girl to whom he was engaged, who suddenly left him for another man. Tim's forgetting is an ego defense mechanism called "_____."

identification
sublimation
repression
displacement

Answer 1

Tim is likely experiencing repression, an ego defense mechanism where anxiety-causing memories are blocked from consciousness to protect the ego.

Step-by-step explanation:

Tim's forgetting of the girl to whom he was once engaged, who suddenly left him for another man, is an ego defense mechanism known as repression. This mechanism involves the anxiety-causing memories being blocked from consciousness as a way to protect the individual's ego. Repression is likened to turning up the radio to avoid hearing a strange noise in a car, in that the troubling memory is pushed out of conscious awareness, thus 'forgotten', at least temporarily.