Individual Differences in Defense Mechanisms

1. Individual Differences in Defense Mechanisms • Freud concerned with DMs at level of human nature • Later researchers examined individual differences • E.g.,. Which defenses one tends to use • Developmental changes in defense

2. Individual Differences in Degree of Defensiveness • Repressor – Sensitizor Concept • Definition: • Repressor: Avoid conscious experience of anxiety • Sensitizor: Approach conscious experience of anxiety • Variability in normal personality styles

3. Measurement of RS • Original RS scale ambiguous in terms of whether or not low anxiety was a result of psychological defenses • Later scheme used two measures together: • Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS) • Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSD)

4. Measurement of RS • TMAS – measure of dispositional anxiety • Low = High = • MCSD - measure of social desirability or defensiveness; tendency to present overly positive image to self (self-deception) and others (impression management). E.g., I never get mad • Low = High =

5. Measurement of RS TMAS MCSD • Repressor Low High • Low Anxious Low Low • Defensive Anx. High High • Sensitizor High Low

6. Validity of RS measurement • I. Self-reported anxiety • Classify Ps as repressors/sensitizors • Put in threatening situation • Assess anxiety • Problems?

7. Validity of RS measurement • II. Self-reported anxiety and physiological responses • Classify Ps as repressors/sensitizors • Put in threatening situation • Assess anxiety and monitor GSR • Self-report/GSR dissociation

8. Validity of RS measurement • III. Childhood memories • Classify Ps as repressors/sensitizors • Ask Ps to recall childhood memories • Prediction • Findings • Mechanisms: Encoding and retrieval effort (alpha waves for Rs)

9. Repressors Vs. Sensitizors Health Implications Advantages/disadvantages of different styles Adaptability of defense mechanisms

10. Research on Unconscious • Two questions: • Unconscious content (can we demonstrate existence of unconscious content?) • Unconscious process (can we be affected by stimuli not consciously perceived?)

11. Unconscious Content • Unconscious = material available but not accessible • Hypermnesia - recall previously inaccessible material • Clinical; recovered memories • Problem; paramnesia (false memory)

12. Unconscious Content • Hypermnesia • Lab; Erdelyi • Present stimuli (words, pictures) • Exhaustive recall tx 1 • Free associate • Exhaustive recall tx 2 • Results tx2 > tx1 (false memory controlled)

13. Unconscious Content • Dissociation - nonunitary consciousness (no awareness of material but external evidence for material) • Clinical: • DID • Emotion awareness • Problem: report bias

14. Unconscious Content • Dissociation - Lab research • Hypnosis (Hilgard) • Suggestion: No experience of pain • Immerse hand cold water • No pain reported but automatic writing suggests pain

15. Unconscious Content • Dissociation - Lab research • Implicit/Explicit memory divergence • Explicit memory - conscious, deliberate recall • Implicit memory - material affects task performance

16. Implicit-Explicit Memory Experiment • Demonstrate implicit but no explicit memory • Present Words Explicit test Implicit test • Hair 0 HA_ _ • Bear BE_ _ • Antegrade amnesiacs • Normal participants (with delay)

17. Unconscious Content • Implicit Stereotypes • An implicit stereotype is a stereotype that is powerful enough to operate without conscious control. • The more closely associated two concepts are, the easier it is to respond to them as a single unit. So, if young and good are strongly associated, it should be easier to respond faster when you are asked to give the same response

18. Unconscious Processes • Perceptions • Semantic Priming • Prime Target Lexical Decisions • Doctor Nail Faster for related • Doctor Nurse* target/prime pairs • Hammer Nail* Related concepts • Hammer Nurse activated • Masked primes (not perceived) yield same effect

19. Unconscious Processes • Perceptions • Social Priming • Person perception (inherent ambiguity) • Activated (primed) constructs affect perceptions • Occurs without awareness

20. Unconscious Processes • Perceptions • Social Priming Experiment (Higgins, Srull) • Study 1 (prime hostility) • Sentence completion: hit cat the his • 80% (primed hostile) vs. 20%) • Study 2 (person perception) • ambiguous description (e.g., refuse to donate) • Primed hostile perceive target more negatively • no awareness; can prime subliminally

21. Unconscious Processes • Affective reactions • Zajonc. Mere exposure effect: Familiarity produces liking • Present stimuli left ear • Shadow prose right ear • Prefer exposed stimuli but no recognition • Occurs with other stimuli (e.g., geometric shapes)

22. Unconscious Processes • Affective reactions • Silverman. Psychopathology. Explicit test of psychoanalytic model • Model: • Unconscious activate wish > Defense mechanisms > Related pathology if defenses inadequate • Subliminal presentation of aggressive stimuli increase levels of depressed for clinically depressed

23. Unconscious Processes Related Issue: What is the quality of unconscious thought? Is it superior to conscious thought? Although controversial, some research (Dijksterhuis) suggests unconscious decisions are better

24. Unconscious vs. Conscious Thought • What is conscious thought? • Thinking about something while consciously attending to it • What is unconscious thought? • Thinking about something while not attending to it • Associating, reasoning, weighing, evaluating while consciously thinking about something else

25. Dijksterhuis (2006) • Participants receive information about 4 apartments • Each apartment is described by 12 aspects (Apt. A is big, Apt. C is in a nice area). • Information for each apartment is presented for 15 secs. • Three apartments have 5 positive and 7 negative aspects. • One is better: 8 positive and 4 negative. • Participants choose an apartment • 1. Immediately • 2. After thinking about it for three minutes • 3. After being distracted for three minutes (unconscious thought)

26. Percentage Choosing Best Apartment

27. Unconscious Thought • Always better? • Complex rather than simple • Processing not acquiring (input assumed to be acquired) • Some failures to replicate