Which defense mechanism involves retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage when faced with anxiety?

Which defense mechanism involves retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage when faced with anxiety?

• A. Repression
• B. Regression
• C. Sublimation
• D. Rorschach Inkblot Test

Answer: (B)

This item centers on how anxiety can cause a person to slip back into earlier patterns of behavior from childhood. Regression is the defense mechanism that involves retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage when faced with stress, acting in a more childish or primitive way as if seeking safety from those younger, simpler times. For example, under pressure an adult might start whining, clinging to a parent, or seeking comforting routines from childhood. That specific move back to earlier stages is what defines regression. Repression, by contrast, is about pushing distressing thoughts out of conscious awareness, not about changing behavior to resemble an earlier stage. Sublimation involves channeling unacceptable urges into constructive activities, like turning aggression into sports. The Rorschach Inkblot Test is a projective assessment, not a defense mechanism.

This item centers on how anxiety can cause a person to slip back into earlier patterns of behavior from childhood. Regression is the defense mechanism that involves retreating to an earlier psychosexual stage when faced with stress, acting in a more childish or primitive way as if seeking safety from those younger, simpler times.

For example, under pressure an adult might start whining, clinging to a parent, or seeking comforting routines from childhood. That specific move back to earlier stages is what defines regression.

Repression, by contrast, is about pushing distressing thoughts out of conscious awareness, not about changing behavior to resemble an earlier stage. Sublimation involves channeling unacceptable urges into constructive activities, like turning aggression into sports. The Rorschach Inkblot Test is a projective assessment, not a defense mechanism.