A student begins to adopt the values and attitudes of a respected mentor without critical evaluation. Which defense mechanism is this?

A student begins to adopt the values and attitudes of a respected mentor without critical evaluation. Which defense mechanism is this?

• A. Introjection
• B. Identification
• C. Displacement
• D. Minimization

Answer: (A)

Introjection is when a person internalizes someone else’s beliefs, values, or attitudes and accepts them as their own, often without questioning them. Here, the student is absorbing a respected mentor’s values without critical evaluation, making those external standards feel like their own inner guidelines. This helps reduce anxiety by aligning the self with a trusted authority, but it can also dampen independent judgment over time. Displacement would involve shifting emotions from the original source to a substitute target; minimization would downplay the significance of something; identification is about modeling after another person and adopting aspects of their identity, sometimes with some conscious recognition of the other person. But the uncritical internalization of someone else’s values fits introjection best.

Introjection is when a person internalizes someone else’s beliefs, values, or attitudes and accepts them as their own, often without questioning them. Here, the student is absorbing a respected mentor’s values without critical evaluation, making those external standards feel like their own inner guidelines. This helps reduce anxiety by aligning the self with a trusted authority, but it can also dampen independent judgment over time.

Displacement would involve shifting emotions from the original source to a substitute target; minimization would downplay the significance of something; identification is about modeling after another person and adopting aspects of their identity, sometimes with some conscious recognition of the other person. But the uncritical internalization of someone else’s values fits introjection best.