Which defense mechanism involves unconscious burying or forgetting painful thoughts and moving them from conscious to unconscious?

Which defense mechanism involves unconscious burying or forgetting painful thoughts and moving them from conscious to unconscious?

• A. Regression
• B. Repression
• C. Undoing
• D. Sublimation

Answer: (B)

Repression is the unconscious burying of painful thoughts, pushing them out of conscious awareness to shield the person from anxiety. Because this happens automatically, the individual cannot retrieve those memories or thoughts at will; they remain hidden unless something uncovers them (dreams, slips of the tongue, or therapeutic exploration). This differs from suppression, which is a conscious choice to avoid thinking about something. The other mechanisms involve different responses: regression is returning to earlier patterns of behavior under stress; undoing is trying to neutralize guilt by performing an opposite action; sublimation redirects unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities. Repression best fits the idea of moving painful material from conscious to unconscious.

Repression is the unconscious burying of painful thoughts, pushing them out of conscious awareness to shield the person from anxiety. Because this happens automatically, the individual cannot retrieve those memories or thoughts at will; they remain hidden unless something uncovers them (dreams, slips of the tongue, or therapeutic exploration). This differs from suppression, which is a conscious choice to avoid thinking about something. The other mechanisms involve different responses: regression is returning to earlier patterns of behavior under stress; undoing is trying to neutralize guilt by performing an opposite action; sublimation redirects unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities. Repression best fits the idea of moving painful material from conscious to unconscious.