Mr. Thomas lost his wife due to corona virus. However, he calls on her mobile phone every single day hoping she would answer his calls. He is in a state of:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Denial
A defence mechanism is a way of reducing anxiety by distorting reality.
Option (1) Denial — Correct. In denial, a person totally refuses to accept reality, as someone suffering from HIV/AIDS may altogether deny the illness. Mr. Thomas calls his wife every day hoping she will answer, because he does not accept that she has died.
Option (2) Projection — Incorrect. In projection, people attribute their own traits to others, as a person with strong aggressive tendencies sees others as aggressive towards her/him. Mr. Thomas is not seeing his own traits in anyone.
Option (3) Repression — Incorrect. In repression, anxiety-provoking thoughts are totally dismissed by the unconscious, so the person becomes unaware of them. Mr. Thomas has not forgotten his wife’s death; he is aware of the loss and refuses to accept it.
Option (4) Reaction formation — Incorrect. In reaction formation, a person adopts behaviours opposite to her/his true feelings. Calling his wife shows his true longing for her, not its opposite.
NCERT (2025-26): “Psychodynamic Approach … 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.…” |