Freudian defence mechanisms
Sigmund Freud highlighted that personality is composed of three elements: the id, superego and
ego (Freud,1920). The id is the unconscious which is driven by internal and basic drives and
needs. It works on the pleasure principle and wants immediate gratification regardless of the
consequences. For example, babies cry when they are hungry and want to be cared for
immediately (Sletvold, 2013). The ego begins to develop at the age of 2 and it is the planning,
thinking and organising part of the personality. It is based on the reality principle and is the
mediator between the child and the outside world (Hartmann, 1956). For example, if the child
wants to get what they want they know that they will have to say ‘please’ instead of shouting
(McIntosh, 1986). The superego works in accordance with the morality principle and helps the
child distinguish between what is right and what is wrong and which behaviours are seen as
permissible (Freud,1920). The superego acts in opposition to the id, helping the ego to rechannel
immoral id impulses. This means that if the ego is seen to allow the expression of bad instinctual
demands, the superego turns against the ego (Frank, 1999). As a result the three aspects of
personality are in conflict with each other (Freud, 1922a).
As the three aspects of personality continue to be in conflict with each other they start to cause
the individual anxiety. As a result defence mechanisms begin to develop (Freud, 1922a).
Defence mechanisms have a role in protecting us from the pain of anxiety and help us feel better
about ourselves (Freud, 1937). This means that if something upsetting happens to the individual
or something that they find disturbing, they are able to push this out of the conscious mind and
into the unconscious (Vaillant, 1992). In general, defence mechanisms are a healthy part of
personality, however, they may become unhelpful when they are used inappropriately by the
individual (Kramer, 2010). This essay will describe some of the defence mechanisms put forward
by Freud and critically evaluate the value of them within contemporary psychology and
psychotherapy.
One defence mechanism is regression (Bar-Haim, 2014). This is when an individual is faced with
anxiety they revert to an earlier stage of development (Freud, 1937). For example, an adult may
watch cartoons or act in a childish manner (Ferenczi, 1931). Individuals regress to the earlier
stage of development when they did not experience the anxiety (Waqas et al., 2015). Regression
may have an important role as a therapeutic technique in that the psychoanalyst can encourage
the patient to regress to a stage where they felt comfortable and were not experiencing this
anxiety. As a result they can identify the source of the conflict which must have been in the
following stage as opposed to the one in which the person reverts to (Spurling, 2008).There are a
variety of clinical applications of regression (Lokko & Stern, 2015). For example, an individual
may exhibit regression when they are unable to cope with everyday life such as sucking their
thumb or rocking backwards and forwards (Blair, Morris, Frith, Perrett & Dolan, 1999).
Repression is a defence mechanism which involves burying anything which can cause anxiety
into the unconscious (Freud, 1922b). For example, fears (Pauls & Stemmler, 2003). The main
aspect of repression is to hide certain thoughts, feelings, or urges from conscious awareness
(Witte & Morrison, 2000). Freud distinguished between two types of repression: primary
repression, which hides unwanted material before it reaches consciousness and repression
proper which occurs when a person becomes aware of repressed material but then purposely
tries to remove it from awareness (Freud, 1922b). Freud further believed that repressed feelings
may pop up in the fears, anxieties, and desires that we experience in these dreams (De Timary,
Heenen-Wolff & Philippot, 2011)
