onto employees, waiters, and telephone solicitors, or who constantly projects
her own suspicions and fears onto others. Consistent with these observations,
researchers have found that each of us tends to rely on some defense mechan-isms more than others (Bond, 1992; Vaillant, 1992). Psychologists sometimes
refer to these individual patterns as our defensive style.
Because some defense mechanisms are more effective than others, iden-
tifying a person’ s defensive style may tell us something about his or her
general well-being. Freud often pointed to defense mechanisms to explain
neurotic behavior. However, it is not clear whether he thought the use ofdefense mechanisms was necessarily pathological. Later psychoanalytic writers
have argued that on occasion defense mechanisms can be normal and even
adaptive (Fenichel, 1945; Vaillant, 1977, 1992). For example, sublimation —
turning the unconscious impulse into a socially acceptable action —can serve
the dual function of relieving anxiety and improving a person ’s life situation.
Whether a defense mechanism is adaptive or maladaptive may be a func-
tion of how often the person relies on it and how old that person is. Anna
Freud (1965) suggested that defense mechanisms are maladaptive when used
past an appropriate age. As mentioned earlier, children often rely on denial
and projection to deal with their anxieties. Five-year-olds may deny they did
something unpleasant and still continue to function well. But adults who use
the same defense strategy ( “I never said that ”) will probably find it more and
more difficult to interact with others or to make sense of their own behavior.
Why do some adults continue to rely on immature defense mechanisms
like denial despite their ineffectiveness? According to Freud, adult defenses0.51.01.52.02.53.0Denial Projection
9 yrs. 
5 mos.8 yrs. 
8 mos.8 yrs. 
0 mos.7 yrs. 
3 mos.6 yrs. 
6 mos.Mean Defense Scores
Age
FIGURE 4.2 Use of Defenses as a Function of Age
Source: From “Evidence for change in children ’s use of defense mechanisms, ”by Phebe Cramer, Journal of
Personality, 1997, 65, 233 –247.Defense Mechanisms 79