The Effects of Success and Failure on Children's Use of Defense Mechanisms

ABSTRACT The effects of moderate stress on the use of defense mechanisms by 64 second- and sixth-graders were determined The use of denial, projection, and identification was assessed from stones told to the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) prior to, and subsequent to, an experimentally controlled experience of success or failure Subjects who experienced failure were more likely to use the lower level defenses of denial and projection, while the experience of success was followed by greater use of identification The results also were consistent with previous studies in demonstrating age and sex differences in the use of defense mechanisms     

The Development of Defense Mechanisms

ABSTRACT It is proposed that defense mechanisms may be characterized as forming a hierarchy, from least to most complex, and that the lowest level defenses emerge early in life, while the more complex defenses emerge later in development Three defenses–Denial, Projection and Identification–were chosen to test this assumption A method for assessing the use of these defenses in Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) stories was developed and validated in a study of four age groups preschool, elementary school, early adolescent, and late adolescent The results of the study were consistent with the prediction Denial was used most frequently by preschool children, and decreased in use thereafter Identification was used minimally by preschool children but increased steadily through adolescence The use of Projection was most frequent in the two middle age groups Some evidence for sex differences, based on the internal/external orientation of the defense, also was found     

Self-esteem and Rogers' core conditions in close friends: A latent variable pathanalysis of panel data

A LISREL or path analysis with latent variables was used to test the Rogerian-derived hypothesis that self-esteem is determined by the degree to which a person has a current close friend who is seen to be unconditionally accepting, empathic, and congruent. The revised Barrett-Lennard (1964) Relationship Inventory and Rosenberg (1965) Self-Esteem Scale were completed by 38 female and 28 male students on two occasions 15 weeks apart. The hypothesis was conjimzed for unconditionality of acceptance (which was positive) and the core conditions combined. In addition, the temporal relationships between the core conditions were analysed. Level of acceptance was reciprocally related to both empathy and congruence, while prior congruence had a negative but nonsignajicant association with unconditionality of acceptance.     

The development of sexual identity

The development of sexual identity was studied in 686 individuals, using a fantasy measure of sexual identity that does not depend on learned sex-role stereotypes. The results showed a marked differentiation between the sexes at pre-adolescence, a loss of differentiation during the freshman year of college that most closely resembled the lack of differentiation in sexual identity of preschool children, and a reemergence of a clear sexual identity during the last years of college. Possible biological, social context, and psychodynamic-maturational explanations for this pattern of development are discussed.     

Violence in children's animated television

Pairs of cartoon episodes which did and did not meet the National Association of Broadcaster's Code for Violence were rated by college students and children on a series of scales to evaluate level of violence and of enjoyment. The results indicated that the Code has been ineffective in reducing levels of rated violence; however, entertainment value has decreased.     

Defense mechanisms and physiological reactivity to stress

The relation between the use of defense mechanisms and autonomic nervous system reactivity, under conditions of laboratory stress, was studied in 78 men and women. Both diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and skin conductance level (SCL) were monitored during exposure to ten stress tasks; concurrently, the use of three defense mechanisms was assessed by coding Thematic Apperception Test stories. Autonomic reactivity was found to be related to defenses; the nature of that relation differed across the defenses. DBP, typically found to be associated with cognitive work, was higher in those individuals who used more Identification, a defense that requires greater cognitive activity. The use of Projection, on the other hand, was associated with lower DBP. In addition, the use of Identification showed a tendency to be associated with lower SCL.     

Consensus change, conflict, and relationship satisfaction in romantic relationships

In this cross-sectional study of 92 romantic relationships, both the S. S. Hendrick (1988) Relationship Assessment Scale and a 16-item negative conflict scale were independently associated with the consensus items of the Short Marital Adjustment Test (H. J. Locke & K. M. Wallace, 1959), but not with change from initial to present consensus. However, consensus change was significantly correlated with relationship satisfaction and negative conflict in those reporting decreased consensus or no change but not increased consensus. Furthermore, relationship satisfaction was accounted for solely by negative conflict in the increased consensus group and by present consensus in the decreased consensus group. These results suggest that the association of relationship satisfaction with consensus and negative conflict may differ according to perceived consensus change.