The primary functions of defense mechanisms are:
1.
2.
3. to minimize anxiety to protect the ego to maintain repression
Humor’s Role:
Aggressor-The individual deals with emotional conflict or external stressors by emphasizing the amusing or ironic aspects of the conflict or stressors.
Or
Victim— The audience recognizes the defense mechanism use and enjoys the misfortune or frustration of others.
Some Types of Defense Mechanism
1. Acting out is a way of revolting against the rules of society or purposely doing what one knows others do not accept. In acting out, a destructive action takes the place of the talking-out of the problem. It is humorous to the outsider because it is such useless behavior and because the actor does not realize its futility.
2. Compensation is an incongruous attempt to make up for a fault. A cruel act may incongruously be followed by extra kindness. A weak person may try to act especially strong; a less intelligent person more intelligent, etc.
3. Denial is a kind of blatant lie or escape. A problem or undesirable trait is denied.
Denial is treating the true as if it were false or trying to change reality merely by wishing it were different.
4. Displacement is another term for transference, symbolization, or metaphorization. An object or thought is taken out of its normal context and so displaced. Displacement may refer to the breaking of an association or connection between feeling, and thought.
5. Fixation (Stereotype humor) occurs when a person has fixed and inflexible ideas.
6. Identification may involve taking on the properties of others or even objects, as one's own. It may be subtle and may involve role taking, identifying with a character in a film or novel, acting like one's friends or parents, etc. Identification may be a conviction that one is other than what one is so as to deny one's unacceptable qualities.

7. Intellectualization involves the use of abstract, ambiguous, or overly theoretical terms unrelated to concrete experience. By the use of such language one may avoid facing one's conflicts and problems. Intellectualization is also a kind of rationalization.
8. Projection is the reverse of introjection. One's own qualities are unknowingly attributed to others, especially the negative qualities. Unsuccessful people may try to find fault with others in an attempt to deny their lack of success, to show that others have failed also, or to attack a quality in others and so vicariously express a dislike of the quality in oneself.
9. Rationalization is an attempt to justify an unjustifiable act by unknowingly finding reasons other than the actual reasons. It is a type of deceit of others and oneself.
Rationalization is a distortion of truth and falsity. The false is seen as true and the true is seen as false.
10. Reaction-Formation involves doing or saying the reverse of what one would wish to do or say. In place of expressing hatred one may show extreme kindness, as if to compensate for the desire not to hate.
11. Regression is acting as one did in a previous stage of development, such as childhood. One cannot actually ever regress or go back to childhood, but rather merely act like a child in some ways. So actual "regression" is a misnomer. Regression is an attempt to be in a previous relatively problem-free, secure and protected state where all of one's needs are taken care of by one's parents.
12. Repression is traditionally described as suppression of "ideas" or emotions.
Repression is a way of lying to ourselves without being aware that we are doing so.
Example: I was a perfect child. I never told a lie.
13. Superiority (Name calling, practical jokes, ignorance humor, satire, tricks, ridicule.) is an inhumane mechanism whereby one is made to feel good, often at someone else's expense. We feel good because we see that others are suffering or more ignorant than ourselves. Ignorance humor involves laughing at people less intelligent than ourselves.