Rohan did not do well in his Pre-Board examination. He believes that this happened because he was not carrying his lucky pen that day. Identify the defence mechanism being used by Rohan.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Rationalisation
Option (1) Repression — Incorrect. In repression, anxiety-provoking behaviours or thoughts are totally dismissed by the unconscious, so the person becomes unaware of them. Rohan is aware of his poor result and is offering a reason for it.
Option (2) Rationalisation — Correct. In rationalisation a person tries to make unreasonable feelings or behaviour seem reasonable and acceptable, like the student who buys new pens after doing poorly and says, ‘I will do much better with these pens’. Rohan explains his poor result by the missing lucky pen instead of his preparation.
Option (3) Reaction formation — Incorrect. Here a person defends against anxiety by adopting behaviour opposite to her/his true feelings. Rohan does not act against his feelings; he gives an excuse.
Option (4) Denial — Incorrect. In denial a person totally refuses to accept reality, as someone with HIV/AIDS may deny the illness. Rohan accepts that he did not do well.
NCERT (2025-26): “Ego Defence Mechanisms … Freud has described many different kinds of defence mechanisms. The most important is repression, in which anxiety-provoking behaviours or thoughts are totally dismissed by the unconscious. When people repress a feeling or desire, they become totally unaware of that wish or desire. Thus, when a person says, ‘I do not know why I did that’, some repressed feeling or desire is expressing itself. Other major defence mechanisms are projection, denial, reaction formation and rationalisation. In projection, people attribute their own traits to others. Thus, a person who has strong aggressive tendencies may see other people as acting in an excessively aggressive way towards her/him. In denial, a person totally refuses to accept reality. Thus, someone suffering from HIV/AIDS may altogether deny her/ his illness. In reaction formation, a person defends against anxiety by adopting behaviours opposite to her/his true feelings. A person with strong sexual urges, who channels her/his energy into religious fervour, presents a classical example of reaction formation. In rationalisation, a person tries to make unreasonable feelings or behaviour seem reasonable and acceptable. For example, when a student buys a set of new pens after doing poorly in an examination, s/he may try to rationalise her/his behaviour by asserting, ‘I will do much better with these pens’.…” |