Week 2 Discussion Forum #1
Friday, September 17, 2021, 1:45 PM
Number of replies: 3
Please answer the following question, and respond to at least one other colleague’s post (total of 2 posts). Your answer and response to the should be between 120-200 words.
Question: In chapter 2, Sigmund Freud was introduced and the following defense mechanisms were named: repression, denial, sublimation, projection, reaction formation, displacement, rationalization, introjection, compensation.
Select one or two from the above list, define it in your own terms, and describe an example that is either something personal to you, or something that you’ve seen in the general public. Finally, explain why you think we have these defense mechanisms (and what purpose they serve).
THIS IS THE PERSON I WANT YOU TO RESPOND TO: Rodel Delosreyes – Monday, November 1, 2021, 6:48 AM
We have defense mechanisms to protect us from unwanted anxiety, experiences, and/or pain. One defensive mechanism is sublimation (O’Hara et al., 2017). This is when a person channels the energy from impulses they or society sees as unwanted or unacceptable into more acceptable ways. One example I saw of this was in my best friend I spent time in the Navy with. He had a rough childhood and gained unhealthy anger issues from it. He recognized this early on and instead of lashing out at people, he became incredibly into working out and took his frustrations out that way. Another defense mechanism I see weekly when at the park with my kids is acting out in other children. This is when children want to deal with their emotions but do it with physical action instead of reflection. When I see this, I do not think most children do it because they are bad kids or they are not open to expressing how they feel verbally, I just think they are too young to be able to verbalize their feelings of anger or distress or sadness so instead they cry or throw a toy.
A random thought I had is how it is so interesting how way back in the day humans used to be afraid of physical things and now we are so afraid of psychological problems that we put up these psychological defenses to protect ourselves. If more people took a look at themselves and recognized why they feel so much anxiety around certain things, and then work through those things, there would be a lot less defense mechanisms implemented by people, and even myself, in today’s world.
References
O’Hara, C., Parker, L. K., & Chang, C. Y. (2017). Theories of human development: Psychosocial, sociocultural, multicultural, biological, and learning theories. In B. T., Erford & I. B. Tucker (Eds.), An advanced lifespan odyssey for counseling professionals (pp. 39-57). Cengage.
Week 2 Discussion Forum #2
Friday, September 17, 2021, 1:45 PM
Number of replies: 3
Please answer the following question, and respond to at least one other colleague’s post (total of 2 posts). Your answer and response to the should be between 120-200 words.
Question: There were several theorists named in Chapter 2. Who was your favorite and why? What in particular did you find fascinating? Also, if there is an area that you would critique, what would it be?
THIS IS THE PERSON I WANT TOU TO RESPOND TO:
In reply to First post
Re: Week 2 Discussion Forum #2
by Siobhan Romanenko – Monday, November 1, 2021, 9:33 AM
Hello class,
Erik Erikson was a German-American neo-Freudian psychologist who came up with his theory of psychosocial development. He was the first person to come up with this theory and it’s based off the belief that human personality develops in a predetermined manner that spans in 8 stages, starting from infancy to old age. It would take hours to clearly define his whole theory here, but to put it in layman’s terms, Erikson proposed that as a person passes through each stage of life they experience a psychosocial crisis that could positively or negatively impact their personality development. What I liked so much about this theory is that it’s so strong. When you go through and actually look at each stage you can see clearly what each crisis is, compare it to your life, and actually identify your own habits. When I look at stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority, I’m able to identify why I doubt myself a lot as an adult. Being able to identify why and where this negative behavior comes from has also allowed me to work on improving it. The only critique I would give this theory is that Erikson doesn’t actually specify the actions needed to overcome each stage successfully.
Bharati, D. K. (2020, December 16). Eriksons Theory of Psychosocial Development: Why is it Still Relevant Today? Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://www.medindia.net/patientinfo/eriksons-theory-of-psychosocial-development-why-is-it-still-relevant-today.htm
