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The Development of Defense Mechanisms

Theory, Research, and Assessment

  • Book
  • © 1991

Overview

Authors:
  1. Phebe Cramer

    1. Department of Psychology, Williams College, Williamstown, USA

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Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
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  2. Theory

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. The Concept of Defense

      • Phebe Cramer
      Pages 3-14

    3. The Concept of Defense Mechanism Development

      • Phebe Cramer
      Pages 15-35

    4. Denial

      • Phebe Cramer
      Pages 36-61

    5. Projection

      • Phebe Cramer
      Pages 62-83

    6. Identification

      • Phebe Cramer
      Pages 84-112

  4. A New Approach to Measuring Defenses

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 213-213
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    2. The Defense Mechanism Manual

      • Phebe Cramer
      Pages 215-234

    3. Psychometric Features

      • Phebe Cramer
      Pages 235-258

    4. Research Findings

      • Phebe Cramer
      Pages 259-267

  5. Back Matter

    Pages 269-338
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Keywords

About this book

The idea that the human mind-that faculty of the intellect which we use to define and discern the truth-might also be used to deceive itself is not new. The classic orator Demosthenes warned of this possibility in 349 B.C. when he wrote that "Nothing is more easy than to deceive one's self; what a man wishes he generally believes to be true." 1 Even Jean Jacques Rousseau, who suggested the possibility of man as "noble savage," alerts us to this paradox, when he writes "Jamais fa nature ne nous trompe; c'est toujours nous qui nous trompons" ("Nature never deceives us; it is always we who deceive ourselves). 2 But it was Sigmund Freud who placed this idea firmly into the field of psychopathology and then, later, into a general psychological theory. According to Freud, understanding the function of a defense mechanism means not only fathoming the origin of pathological symptoms but also comprehending a model of the mind that includes both conscious and unconscious mental processes. From this initial focus on the general process of defense, Freud and his followers went on to identify various forms this process might take, with the result that today we have a list of 3 more than 37 defense mechanisms described in the literature.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Psychology, Williams College, Williamstown, USA

    Phebe Cramer

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Development of Defense Mechanisms

  • Book Subtitle: Theory, Research, and Assessment

  • Authors: Phebe Cramer

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9025-1

  • Publisher: Springer New York, NY

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 1991

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4613-9027-5

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-4613-9025-1

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIII, 338

  • Topics: Psychology, general, Statistics for Social Sciences, Humanities, Law

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