Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 66%
Simulated
A nurse at a college campus mental health counseling center is caring for a student who just failed an examination. The student spends the session berating the teacher and the course. The nurse should recognize this behavior as which of the following defense mechanisms?
Correct answer
C
Rationale
The correct answer is C: Projection. Projection is a defense mechanism where an individual attributes their own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or motives onto someone else. In this scenario, the student is projecting their feelings of inadequacy and failure onto the teacher and the course by berating them. This allows the student to avoid facing their own responsibility for failing the exam.
A: Regression involves reverting to an earlier stage of development in response to stress.
B: Conversion is the expression of emotional conflicts through physical symptoms.
D: Undoing is engaging in acts to counteract or negate previous unacceptable behavior.
In summary, projection fits best in this scenario as the student is displacing their own feelings onto others.
A: Regression involves reverting to an earlier stage of development in response to stress.
B: Conversion is the expression of emotional conflicts through physical symptoms.
D: Undoing is engaging in acts to counteract or negate previous unacceptable behavior.
In summary, projection fits best in this scenario as the student is displacing their own feelings onto others.