Which defense mechanism involves pushing unacceptable thoughts out of conscious awareness?

Which defense mechanism involves pushing unacceptable thoughts out of conscious awareness?

• A. Repression
• B. Projection
• C. Rationalization
• D. Denial

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is how defenses manage anxiety by keeping disturbing thoughts out of awareness. Pushing unacceptable thoughts away from conscious awareness is repression. It reduces immediate distress by removing the threat from awareness, with the material still lurking in the unconscious and able to influence feelings or behavior, sometimes surfacing later in dreams or slips of the tongue. Denial involves refusing to accept reality, not pushing the thought out of awareness; projection shifts one's own unacceptable thoughts onto someone else; rationalization creates believable excuses to justify the behavior rather than suppressing the thought itself.

The idea being tested is how defenses manage anxiety by keeping disturbing thoughts out of awareness. Pushing unacceptable thoughts away from conscious awareness is repression. It reduces immediate distress by removing the threat from awareness, with the material still lurking in the unconscious and able to influence feelings or behavior, sometimes surfacing later in dreams or slips of the tongue. Denial involves refusing to accept reality, not pushing the thought out of awareness; projection shifts one's own unacceptable thoughts onto someone else; rationalization creates believable excuses to justify the behavior rather than suppressing the thought itself.