A 32-year-old man comes to his physician after 2 episodes of vomiting at work a few hours ago. He works as a waiter and is upset because his boss yelled at him for vomiting in the restaurant bathroom. The patient immediately left work and went home but later yelled at his 3-year-old son for leaving his toys on the ground. He tells his doctor he usually does not mind when his son leaves toys on the ground, and he feels guilty about yelling.
B) Displacement
This patient experienced a frustrating situation at work when his boss yelled at him. Instead of confronting his boss directly, the patient went home and later expressed frustration at his son for something that typically would not bother him. Thus, he has displaced his frustration for his boss onto his child and employed the immature ego defense of displacement.
Acting out involves expressing unacceptable feelings and thoughts through actions. If the patient had expressed his frustration by throwing a plate on the ground at work after his boss yelled at him, he would be acting out.
Fixation involves remaining at a more childish level of development. If this patient threw tantrums every time his boss was displeased, he may be suffering from fixation. This patient later felt guilty about his actions, so fixation is unlikely.
Projection involves attributing an unacceptable internal impulse to an external source. If this patient wanted to hit his child but then accused his wife of wanting to hit the child, he would be projecting.
Transference involves a patient projecting feelings about important people in his life onto a physician. If this patient started to see his physician as his parent, it would be called transference.
Key Learning Point
Displacement is a commonly used ego defense in which a person redirects their anger and frustration towards a neutral person who did not cause the anger.
