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Defence mechanism - Quiz
Contributed by: Morris
  • 1. Who introduced the four-level classification of defence mechanisms?
A) Erik Erikson
B) Sigmund Freud
C) George Eman Vaillant
D) Carl Jung
  • 2. Which longitudinal study provided the basis for Vaillant's categorization?
A) The Harvard Study of Adult Development
B) The Grant Study
C) The Stanford Prison Experiment
D) The Milgram Experiment
  • 3. In what year did the Grant Study begin?
A) 1945
B) 1950
C) 1937
D) 1920
  • 4. What was the overarching aim of Vaillant's study?
A) To create new medication
B) To study childhood trauma
C) To define characteristics of mental health
D) To diagnose psychopathology
  • 5. How many levels are in Vaillant's classification of defence mechanisms?
A) Three
B) Six
C) Five
D) Four
  • 6. Which level includes 'pathological' defences?
A) Level II
B) Level IV
C) Level III
D) Level I
  • 7. Which level includes 'immature' defences?
A) Level I
B) Level III
C) Level II
D) Level IV
  • 8. Which level includes 'neurotic' defences?
A) Level I
B) Level IV
C) Level II
D) Level III
  • 9. Which level includes 'mature' defences?
A) Level III
B) Level II
C) Level I
D) Level IV
  • 10. Which of these is considered a Level I pathological defence?
A) Humour
B) Intellectualization
C) Projection
D) Delusional projection
  • 11. Which of these is a Level IV mature defence?
A) Denial
B) Acting out
C) Dissociation
D) Altruism
  • 12. What can happen to external reality when Level I defences are used?
A) It is accurately perceived
B) It is analyzed intellectually
C) It is radically reshaped
D) It is ignored completely
  • 13. Where might Level I pathological defences be observed besides overt psychosis?
A) Professional work
B) Dreams
C) Healthy adult social interactions
D) Scientific experiments
  • 14. What is 'Denial' as a defence mechanism?
A) Blaming others for internal feelings
B) Refusal to accept external reality
C) Using humor to deflect pain
D) Transforming emotions into actions
  • 15. What is 'Distortion'?
A) Accepting reality too readily
B) A gross reshaping of external reality
C) Acting out impulses physically
D) A focus on logical analysis
  • 16. Which group of people was monitored in the Grant Study?
A) Elderly individuals
B) Harvard men
C) Children from various backgrounds
D) Patients in psychiatric wards
  • 17. How did the hierarchy of defences correlate with life outcomes?
A) With psychological maturity
B) With academic performance
C) With physical strength
D) With financial success
  • 18. Which of these is a Level II defence?
A) Suppression
B) Passive aggression
C) Reaction formation
D) Anticipation
  • 19. Which of these is a Level III defence?
A) Repression
B) Psychotic denial
C) Sublimation
D) Fantasy
  • 20. What is the nature of delusions in 'delusional projection'?
A) Scientific
B) Logical
C) Persecutory
D) Helpful
  • 21. How are defense mechanisms described in terms of their psychological origin?
A) Unconscious processes
B) Learned social behaviors
C) Voluntary habit formations
D) Logical reasoning processes
  • 22. What is object constancy?
A) The ability to focus on one object for a long time
B) A process of distorting id impulses
C) Knowing that bad and good can exist at the same time in the same person
D) The tendency to reject negative traits in others
  • 23. What is the primary goal of rationalization?
A) Channeling libido into art
B) Falling back to an earlier developmental state
C) Seeing one's own urges in others
D) Justifying behavior using logical reasons
  • 24. Who authored the 1936 book 'The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence'?
A) Anna Freud
B) Sigmund Freud
C) Paulhus
D) Robert Plutchik
  • 25. What did Anna Freud call the signal occurring in the ego of an anticipated instinctual tension?
A) Signal anxiety
B) Libidinal drive
C) Object constancy
D) Primary repression
  • 26. Which mechanism involves acting in the opposite way that the unconscious instructs?
A) Displacement
B) Reaction formation
C) Repression
D) Regression
  • 27. According to the text, which defense mechanism is seen as the most acceptable?
A) Denial
B) Undoing
C) Projection
D) Sublimation
  • 28. According to Robert Plutchik's theory, which emotion relates to projection?
A) Fear
B) Disgust
C) Joy
D) Sadness
  • 29. In Plutchik's theory, which defense mechanism is linked to sadness?
A) Displacement
B) Repression
C) Regression
D) Compensation
  • 30. What does projection involve?
A) Suppressing memories of childhood
B) Channeling energy into intellectual pursuits
C) Returning to a safer developmental stage
D) Seeing one's own unacceptable urges in others
  • 31. Which organization published the DSM-IV?
A) World Health Organization
B) American Psychiatric Association
C) British Psychological Society
D) National Institute of Mental Health
  • 32. What is the basis for the DSM-IV-TR classification of defense mechanisms?
A) Freud's original writings
B) Vaillant's hierarchical view
C) Jungian archetypal theory
D) Cognitive behavioral research
  • 33. Which of the following is categorized under the 'High adaptive level'?
A) Acting Out
B) Splitting
C) Humor
D) Denial
  • 34. Which of these is considered a 'Minor image-distorting level' defense?
A) Apathetic withdrawal
B) Psychotic distortion
C) Suppression
D) Devaluation
  • 35. Which of the following is listed under the 'Mental inhibitions' level?
A) Help-rejecting complaining
B) Affiliation
C) Undoing
D) Omnipotence
  • 36. Which defense is categorized under the 'Disavowal level' along with Projection?
A) Dissociation
B) Isolation of Affect
C) Rationalization
D) Denial
  • 37. Which of the following is an example of an 'Action level' defense?
A) Idealization
B) Self-Observation
C) Acting Out
D) Repression
  • 38. Which of the following is considered a borderline defense mechanism?
A) Splitting
B) Humor
C) Altruism
D) Suppression
  • 39. Who developed the theory of borderline personality organization based on object relations theory?
A) Otto F. Kernberg
B) Jung
C) Freud
D) Gabbard
  • 40. What is a core consequence of the inability to integrate helpful and harmful mental objects in Kernberg's theory?
A) Psychotic thought disorder
B) Neurotic rigidity
C) Borderline personality organization
D) Healthy personality
  • 41. Which defense is classified as 'less adaptive' by Gabbard?
A) Dissociation
B) Sublimation
C) Anticipation
D) Suppression
  • 42. Which mechanism involves the fragmentation of the personality?
A) Suppression
B) Humor
C) Fragmentation
D) Altruism
  • 43. Which defense mechanism is included in both Kernberg's borderline defenses and splitting-based defenses?
A) Anticipation
B) Humor
C) Suppression
D) Projective identification
  • 44. Which of the following is associated with the psychotic level of organization?
A) Concretization
B) Isolation of affect
C) Rationalization
D) Sublimation
  • 45. According to the PDM-2 classification, which is a symptom of the borderline level of organization?
A) Rigidity
B) Thought disorder
C) Impulsivity
D) Certainty
  • 46. Which defense mechanism involves shifting impulses to a less threatening target?
A) Projection
B) Suppression
C) Reaction formation
D) Displacement
  • 47. What is the defining trait of Hypochondriasis?
A) Detachment of emotion from an idea
B) Excessive worry about having a serious illness
C) Constructive service to others
D) Conscious delay of emotional needs
  • 48. What does 'Isolation of affect' result in?
A) Making an idea feel flat by detaching emotion
B) Transformation of aggression into sports
C) Excessive worry about health
D) Direct expression of hostility
  • 49. Which defense mechanism involves retreating into fantasy to resolve conflicts?
A) Schizoid fantasy
B) Projection
C) Intellectualization
D) Dissociation
  • 50. Neurotic defense mechanisms are considered common in which group?
A) Only those with major depression
B) Infants
C) Only children
D) Adults
  • 51. What is the definition of 'Anticipation'?
A) Detaching emotion from an idea
B) Expressing ideas that give pleasure to others
C) Realistic planning for future discomfort
D) Converting impulses into their opposites
  • 52. How many defence processes are included in the DMRS?
A) 10
B) 40
C) 30
D) 7
  • 53. Who originally created the Defence Mechanism Rating Scale?
A) Vaillant
B) J. Christopher Perry
C) Mariagrazia Di Giuseppe
D) Sigmund Freud
  • 54. How many categories are the defence processes divided into in the DMRS?
A) 5
B) 7
C) 30
D) 3
  • 55. What is the highest level of adaptiveness in the DMRS?
A) Action
B) Neurotic
C) High-adaptive
D) Obsessional
  • 56. Which of the following is an example of a psychotic defence?
A) Acting out
B) Autistic withdrawal
C) Splitting
D) Passive aggression
  • 57. How long have assessments like the DMRS and Vaillant's hierarchy been used?
A) Over 100 years
B) Over 5 years
C) Over 40 years
D) Over 10 years
  • 58. What do action defences provide to the individual?
A) Complete elimination of stress
B) Lasting improvement
C) Short-term relief
D) Total psychological stability
  • 59. Which mechanism involves the simplification of how one sees themselves and others?
A) High-adaptive
B) Major image-distorting
C) Psychotic
D) Action
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