Response Paper
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Sigmund Freud believes that people who experience anxiety unconsciously deal with it through a number of strategies called defense mechanism. Three of these defense mechanisms are Displacement, Rationalization, and Denial. Displacement happens when “the expression of an unwanted feeling or thought is redirected from a more threatening powerful person to a weaker one” (Author, Year). I have seen this many times before from my friend. Whenever he gets frustrated at work or whenever he feels tired, he tends to express his frustration towards his wife. This leads to many arguments, and sometimes, unintentional verbal abuse. One time, my friend was expecting the promotion that he always wanted. However, it was not given to him, so he went home with so much anguish. Then, he started being angry about everything in their house – from his lost keys to the unorganized bookshelves. The argument just kept bigger and bigger, but they were able to reconcile days after. My friend related this story, and he also admitted that he just felt too much pressure from his work. In this case, displacement became healthy because my friend was able to release his intense feelings, and he was able to go back to work calmly and with clearer mind. However, it was unhealthy due to the fact that it put a strain on his personal relationship with his wife. Rationalization, on the other hand, happens when “people provide self-justifying explanations in place of the actual, but threatening, reason for their behavior” (Author, year). I have probably experience this before. Whenever there were family occasions in my aunt’s place, I often say that I have a lot of things to do and that the people wouldn’t probably mind or even notice if I don’t participate. However, as I think things through, the actual reason was that I don’t feel comfortable with my cousins because we have different interests and hobbies. During that time, I just didn’t feel that I belong to the family. In this case, displacement helped me by saving me from uncomfortable situation. However, it became unhealthy because instead of assessing my family relations and dealing with any issue, I just tried to push things aside. This issue, although a thing of the past, could have been resolved earlier. Denial is another defense mechanism where “people refuse to accept or acknowledge an anxiety-producing piece of information” (Author, Year). For instance, I have a friend whose mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Despite the first diagnosis, she went on to look for several more doctors to conduct more diagnosis. I knew that time that she was just looking for a doctor who would tell her and her family that her mother is not sick at all. She was denying the fact that her mother has Alzheimer’s disease, and she would often tell everyone that she feels like the diagnosis was wrong. In this case, denial helped her at first by giving her hope and making her stay calm amidst the bad news. However, it became unhealthy because denial delayed the process of preparation or resolution needed to deal with her mother’s disease.
In order to assess one’s personality and behavior from an objective point of view, experts use psychological tests. An example of this is Rorschach Test, a projective test that is carried out by presenting a symmetrical stimuli (image) to the participants and collecting their interpretation of the stimuli. Based on the participants’ response, they are classified to certain personality types. This may be useful to human resources department during the hiring process because it may help in determining the personality of a potential worker. For instance, if human resources department is looking for a sales person, using the Rorschach Test may help them look for an applicant with a personality that will best fit the position. Another psychological test is Thematic Apperception Test. This is another projective test in which the participant is shown series of images or pictures that he/she (participant) needs to write a story about. The personality of the participant will be assessed based on the resulting story. Just like the Rorschach Test, this may be helpful to the human resources department during the hiring process. It may also be used when deciding who to promote for a position. For example, a person whose results showed more emotional strength and stability may be considered for a higher position than those who showed the opposite characteristics. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2- Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) is another psychological test that consists of series of questions that need to be answered with either “True,” “False,” or “Cannot Say.” The pattern of responses serves as the data to measure one’s personality. Although it may be used by human resources department to help assess an applicant or worker, it is not the best tool for screening because some examiners tend to assess based on individual scales instead of assessing the overall pattern that would best show a person’s personality
Stress is described as a stimulus that creates a disturbance within a person’s physical and psychological balance. Primary cognitive appraisal is the process in which the stress is assessed by the individual, whether it is personally relevant or not. This is followed by the secondary appraisal in which the person evaluates his ability or resources to cope with the presented stress. The person may decide whether he/she has the ability/resources to employ a problem-focused coping strategy (changing the stressful situation) or an emotion-focused coping strategy (adjusting the emotions without changing the situation) in order to eliminate or minimize the effect of the stressor.
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