An objective instrument for measuring defense mechanisms.

Abstract

measure the relative intensity of usage of five major groups of defenses, is described. The inventory consists of 10 brief stories, two per conflict area, followed by four questions regarding S's actual behavior, fantasy behavior, thoughts, and feelings in the situations described. Five responses typifying the five defenses (i.e., hostility-out, projection, principalization, turning-against-self, and reversal) are provided for each question, from which S selects the one most representative and the one least representative of his reaction. Reliability, validity, and normative studies are presented, all indicating that this inventory has many potential uses as a clinical and research instrument. Increased preoccupation with the theory of ego processes during the last few decades has led to greater concentration on operational definition, classification, and measurement of various ego functions. Recently, several in-vestigators (e.g., Haan, 1963; Kroeber, 1963) have made progress in differentiating and assessing defensive and adaptive ego function-ing. However, there is still much need for ob-jective studies in this area. This preliminary report on the construction and validation of a new instrument designed specifically for the measurement of five general defense mecha-nisms should be, therefore, of considerable interest to researchers and clinicians. Many defense mechanisms have been identi-fied, some with rather tenuous differences. This multiplicity has led to attempts to achieve a more parsimonious classification