Question

Leah just had an argument with her mother and leaves the kitchen extremely angry. Once she gets to her bedroom, she slams the door shut and begins to throw things across the room. Which of Freud's defense mechanisms is Leah using?

a) Reaction formation
b) Repression
c) Acting out
d) Denial

Answer 1

Leah is using the acting out defense mechanism, where she expresses her unconscious feelings of anger through physical actions like slamming doors and throwing objects.

Step-by-step explanation:

Leah is displaying the defense mechanism known as acting out, which is an expression of her unconscious feelings and frustrations in a physical way. When people act out, they deal with emotional conflict or internal or external stressors by actions rather than reflections or feelings. This behavior is usually in response to emotional distress and often results in conflicts with others as the emotions are projected outwards in the form of negative behavior.

In contrast, reaction formation would involve Leah acting overly pleasant or calm in response to her anger, showing the opposite behavior to her true feelings. Repression is the process of burying distressing thoughts and emotions in the unconscious, something that is not being demonstrated here as Leah's behavior is a direct expression of her feelings. Denial would involve Leah refusing to acknowledge that she is angry, which again is not the case as her actions clearly exhibit her emotional state.

Leah's behavior is a display of the defense mechanism acting out because she is exhibiting her anger through physical actions rather than repressing or denying her feelings.