Final answer:
Displacement is a defense mechanism in psychology where individuals divert their negative emotions or unacceptable urges onto a substitute target that is less threatening or more acceptable. When a customer is upset and not thinking clearly because his emotions are running high, this behavior is a displacement.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a customer is upset and not thinking clearly because his emotions are running high, this behavior is a displacement.
Displacement is a defense mechanism in psychology where individuals divert their negative emotions or unacceptable urges onto a substitute target that is less threatening or more acceptable. In this case, the upset customer is displacing their emotions onto the situation or the person they are interacting with, which may cause them to act irrationally or display inappropriate behavior.
For example, a customer who is angry about a product defect may take out their frustration on a customer service representative by yelling or making unreasonable demands. The customer is displacing their anger onto the representative because they are unable to address the root cause of their frustration.