An interactive computerized teaching program with which students learn to analyze behaviors as examples of psychological defense is described. Students are presented with a short paragraph describing a fictional situation in which a defensive behavior is enacted. These behaviors are analyzed in terms of actor-action-object propositions. The transformations in these three terms generate psychological defenses such as projection and reaction formation. Students' satisfaction with the program and their subsequent performance in identifying defense mechanisms indicated that it was useful for developing analytic skills.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BrennerC. (1955). An elementary textbook of psychoanalysis.New York: International Universities Press.
2.
HollandN. (1973). Defense, displacement and the ego's algebra. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 54, 247–257.
3.
MenningerK. (1947). The human mind.New York: Knopf.
4.
SuppesP.WarrenH. (1975). On the generation and classification of defence mechanisms. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 56, 405–414.
