DEFENSE MECHANISM SCENARIOS
1. You receive a poor grade on a test, and you believe that the test was unfair. When you
speak to the teacher, he says, “Sorry. You’ll just have to study harder next time.” When
you arrive home, you yell at your roommate because the house is messy.
Answer: Displacement
2. You are envious of a friend’s new car. The next time you and your friends are driving
around town, you see a car just like it, driven by a stranger. You say to your friends
about the stranger, “I bet that girl is a spoiled brat.”
Answer: Displacement
3. You are watching your favorite TV show, when a sudden news flash interrupts the
program. The newscaster reports that a horrible accident has occurred in your hometown,
in which dozens of people have been killed. You switch the channel to watch something
else and try not to think about it.
Answer: Suppression
4. Your friend enjoys smoking. When you express concern about your friend’s health and
show her some articles about the risks of smoking, she says, “That’s just government
propaganda.”
Answer: Denial
5. You are attending a Psi Chi-sponsored lunch, with free boxed lunches. The food looks
really good, so you take two boxes, telling yourself, “I just won’t have one the next
time.”
Answer: Rationalization
6. Your friend offers to give you the answers to an Abnormal Psychology test, which he
took early. You agree, thinking to yourself, “If my teacher were better, I wouldn’t be
forced to cheat.”
Answer: Rationalization
7. You develop a crush on a friend. Every time you see this friend, you tease and criticize
him or her.
Answer: Reaction formation
8. You don’t like your boss. Each morning, when she comes in to work, you act especially
nice to her and even buy her flowers on her birthday.
Answer: Reaction formation
9. You tend to procrastinate, but you’re embarrassed about this quality. Any time you see
someone else procrastinating, you say, “He must really be lazy. What a bum!”
Answer: Projection
10. You are experiencing problems in your romantic relationship. When you read a tabloid
article about celebrities whose relationships are on the rocks, you tell your friend,
“They’re probably going to split up.”
Answer: Projection
11. You enjoy playing video games in which your mission is to eliminate enemy alien forces.
Answer: Sublimation
12. You are a talented artist whose paintings depict serious, dark themes.
Answer: Sublimation