Isabela State University | ECHAGUE

College of Criminal Justice Education

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY

Echague Main Campus

COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION

-Criminology Program-

HUMAN BEHAVIOR & CRISIS

MANAGEMENT
[CRIMINOLOGY 53]

An Instructional Material

Prepared & Compiled by:

REGINALD C. SIBUG
Instructor

HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY

Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
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 Isabela State University | ECHAGUE
College of Criminal Justice Education

PART I: UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Chapter’s Contents:
I. Important Points to Ponder
 Definition of Terms
 Branches of Psycology
 Personalities in the World of
Psychology
II. General Classifications of Behavior
III. Other Classifications of Behavior
IV. Two Basic Types of Bahavior
V. Aspects of Behavior
VI. Attributes or Characteristics of Behavior
VII. Determinants of Behavior
 Chromosomal Abnormalities
VIII. Other Determinants of Behavior
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
IX. Causation of Human Behavior
X. Viewpoints in the study of Human Behavior
XI. People Interaction and Transaction
 Ego Defense Mechanism
 Transactional Ananlysis
XII. Frustration and Confilcts
 Basic Types of Conflict
 Sources of Conflict (3 parts of Human
Personality)
 Stress and Coping
 Anxiety and Defense Mechanism
 Classification of Defense Mechanism

I. IMPORTANT POINTS TO PONDER

 PERSONALITIES IN THE WORLD
 Psychology OF PSYCHOLOGY

*Derived from two Greek words Wilhelm Wundt: The Father of Modern
Psychology
Psyche - Soul
William James: The Father of American
Logos – study of Psychology; he helped establish
psychology in the U.S. and his book, The
*refers to the scientific study of behavior
Principles of Psychology, became an
and the mind.
instant classic.
 BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY
Sigmund Freud: The Father of
• Abnormal Psychology
• Behavioral Psychology Psychoanalysis; his theories and work
• Cognitive Psychology established psychoanalysis as a major
• Comparative Psychology school of thought in psychology.
• Cross-cultural Psychology
• Developmental Psychology

HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY

Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
12

Hugo Munsterberg: The Father of
Applied Psychology; he was an early
pioneer of several applied areas including
clinical and forensic
John Bowlby: The Father of Attachment
Theory; he developed the theory of
attachment.
Kurt Lewin: The Father of Social
Psychology; his work pioneered the use of
scientific methods to study social
behavior.
Edward Thorndike: The Father of
Modern Educational Psychology; his
research on the learning process helped
establish the foundation for educational
psychology.
 
Jean Piaget: The Father of
Developmental Psychology; his theory of
cognitive development revolutionized how
research thought about children's
intellectual growth.
Ulric Neisser: The Father of Modern
Cognitive Psychology; the cognitive
movement in psychology received a major
boost from the publication of his 1967
book, Cognitive Psychology.
Lightner Witmer: The Father of Modern
Clinical Psychology; he founded the
world's first journal devoted to clinical
psychology, The Psychological Clinic, in
1907.
 
Gordon Allport: The Father of
Personality Psychology; he was one of the
first psychologists to study personality.
 Human – a tripartite being composed of
body, soul and spirit; body is the structure,
soul is the knowledge, and spirit is the
wisdom.
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY
Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
Isabela State University | ECHAGUE
College of Criminal Justice Education
 Behavior – anything that an individual
does or says. It refers to the person’s
thoughts, emotions, and actions.
 Human Behavior - is the way a person
behaves or acts. It also refers to the range
of behaviors exhibited by humans and
which are influenced by culture, attitudes,
emotions, values, ethics, authority,
rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion
and genetics.
What is Human Behavior?
Human behavior is the collection of
behaviors exhibited by human beings and
influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values,
ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion,
coercion and/or genetics.
It is the voluntary or involuntary attitude a
person adopts in order to fit society’s idea of right
or wrong. It is partly determined by heredity and
environment, and modified through learning. It is
also the way human beings act. Many people use
the word behavior to mean conduct but in
psychology and other behavioral sciences,
behavior is regarded as any activity of a person.
(Soriano, 2003)
• In sociology, behavior is considered as
having no meaning, being not directed at
other people and thus is the most basic
human action. Behavior should not be
mistaken with social behavior, which is
more advanced action, as social behavior
is behavior specifically directed at other
people. The acceptability of behavior is
evaluated relative to social norms and
regulated by various means of social
control.
• Is mostly a product of learning, just as
the human being is the product of heredity,
environment and training.
• The reaction to facts of a relationship
between the individual and his
environment.
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College of Criminal Justice Education
 Abnormal Psychology – branch of • Abnormality in the legal standpoint
psychology which attempts to study declares that a person is insane largely
Criminal Behavior. on the basis of his inability to judge
between right and wrong or to exert
 Criminal Behavior – deviation from control over his behavior.
statistical norm;
- prolonged departure of the individual
from his natural mental state An abnormal person is characterized by
- inability to judge between right or the following:
wrong or inability to exert control
over his own behavior. a. Deviation from average
b. Deviation from the ideal
c. Abnormality as a sense of
II. GENERAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF
subjective discomfort (personal
BEHAVIOR
distress)
d. Abnormality as the inability to
1. Normal Behavior (Adaptive or
function effectively
Adjusted)– A standard behavior. The
(maladaptive behavior)
totally accepted behavior because they
follow the standard norms of society.
III. OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS OF HUMAN
BEHAVIOR (Bautista & Guevara, 2008)
A normal person is characterized by the
 1. Habitual – refers to demeanors which
following:
are resorted to in a regular basis. Example,
a. Free expression of personality brushing our teeth every after meals.
b. Ability to exercise voluntary control
 2. Instinctive – human conducts which are
over his behavior
unlearned and inherent, said to be present
c. Adequate security feeling
at birth of a person, and significantly
d. Self-esteem and acceptance
influenced by heredity. Ex. Eating when
e. Efficient contact / perception of reality
hungry
f. Emotional maturity
g. Adaptability to group norms or ability to  3. Symbolic – human conducts in response
form affectionate relationship with to stimuli undertaken by means of
others substitution. Example, handshake to
h. Adequate self-knowledge symbolize agreement or friendship.
i. Integrated and consistent
personality  4. Complex – refers to two or more
j. Productivity habitual behavior which occurs in one
situation. Example, watching TV while
2. Abnormal Behavior (Maladaptive or eating.
Maladjusted)
• A group of behavior that is deviant
from social expectations because they IV. TWO BASIC TYPES OF HUMAN
go against the norms or standard BEHAVIOR
behavior of the society.
• It is the effect of a well being of the 1. Inherited Behavior – product of instinct and
individual and or the social group. genetics. Considerations for inherited behavior
include physical traits and mental traits.

HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY

Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
12

2. Learned (Operant) Behavior – considerations
are environment, training and efforts of the will.
V. ASPECTS OF BEHAVIOR
1. Intellectual Aspect – way of thinking,
reasoning, solving problem, processing
information and coping with the
environment.
2. Emotional Aspect – feelings, moods,
temper, strong motivational force within a
person
3. Social Aspect – people interaction or
relationship with other people
4. Moral Aspect – conscience, concept on
what is good or bad
5. Psychosexual Aspect – being a man or a
woman and the expression of love
6. Political Aspect – ideology towards
society or government
7. Value / Attitude – interests towards
something likes and dislikes
VI. ATTRIBUTES OR CHARACTERISTICS
OF BEHAVIOR:
1. Overt Behavior –observable, seen or
felt by another person, can be recorded
or manifested.
 Example; Laughing, eating,
playing, etc.
2. Covert Behavior – those that are
hidden from the view of the observer.
It is known only by the person
himself.
 Example; blood circulation,
food digestion, thinking, etc.
3. Conscious Behavior – the person is
aware of the action he does.
Attributes of Human Behavior (Bautista &
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY
Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
Isabela State University | ECHAGUE
College of Criminal Justice Education
 Example: Sitting, standing,
raising of arms.
4. Unconscious – the person is not aware
why or how he/she performs an action.
5. Simple Behavior – less number of
neutrons are consumed/involved in the
process of behaving.
 Example Sitting, walking,
plain reading
6. Complex Behavior – more neutron
are involve. It is the combination of
simple behavior.
 Example: jogging, laughing,
dancing
7. Rational Behavior – there is a reason
for the action or acting with sanity or
with reasons.
 Example: laughing when you
are happy; crying when you
are hurt. 
8. Irrational Behavior – acting without
reason/unaware. The action is done
with no apparent reason or
explanation.
 Example: Laughing inside the
classroom with no apparent
reason.
9. Voluntary Behavior – done with full
volition of will. Can be controlled;
performed by skeletal muscles.
10. Involuntary Behavior – bodily
process that goes on even when we are
awake or asleep. Behaviors that are
done beyond control.
 Example respiration,
circulation of the blood, food
digestion, etc.
Guevara, 2008)
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1. Duration – aspect of human behavior in
terms of function of time, how long or
brief the interval maybe.
2. Extensity – traits of human behavior
which centers on size, distance, location
(spatial characteristics)
3. Intensity – features of human behavior
which focuses in terms of magnitude,
mild, strong, (disintegrative)
4. Quantity – refers to the aspect of human
behavior dealing with the normal and
abnormal traits.
VII. DETERMINANTS OF BEHAVIOR
1. HEREDITY
- The determinant of behavior which
asserts that behavior is influenced by
genes, the characteristics of a person is
acquired from birth and transferred
from generation to another.
- Is the process by which various
characteristics are transmitted to the
individual at the time of fertilization.
It is the nature’s way of passing on to
children the potential characteristics of
parents.
What could be inherited?
a. Physical Trait
2. ENVIRONMENT
b. Mental Traits
 Chromosomes - These are the carriers
of the genes – hereditary units. There
are about 1,000 genes or higher in a
chromosome.
 CHROMOSOMAL
ABNORMALITIES
1. Down Syndrome – a.k.a Mongolism.
Results in mild to severe learning
disabilities and physical symptoms
that include a small skull, extra folds
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY
Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
Isabela State University | ECHAGUE
College of Criminal Justice Education
of skin under the eyes, and a flattened
nose bridge.
2. Turner’s Syndrome – a female born
with only one chromosome X instead
of the usual XX. The female fails to
develop sexually at puberty; of normal
intelligence but show specific
cognitive defects – poor in arithmetic
and on tests of visual form perception.
3. Klinefelter’s Syndrome – a case
when the 23rd chromosome fails to
divide properly and the developing
organism ends up with an extra X
chromosome.
a. XXY – physical male, with penis
and testicles but with marked
feminine characteristics. His
breasts are enlarged and his testes
are small and do not produce
sperm.
b. XYY Abnormality– with an
extra Y chromosome in males,
taller than average, and are
reported to be unusually
aggressive. Person suffering from
XYY abnormality is called
“supermale”.
- Refers to anything around a person
which influences his behavior.
- It refers to the surrounding conditions
and forces which exert an influence or
modify the development of the
individual.
 FAMILY BACKGROUND –
family is said to be the cradle of
personality development.
 CHILD TRAUMA – the
experience which affects the
feeling of security of child
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undergoing development
processes.
PATHOGENIC FAMILY
STRUCTURES
a. Inadequate Family – It is characterized
by the inability to cope with ordinary
problems of daily living.
b. Anti-social Family– A family that
espouses unacceptable values.
c. Discordant/Disturbed Family – It is
characterized by non-satisfaction of one or
both parents with their relationship that
may express feeling of frustration.
d. Disrupted Family – It is characterized by
incompleteness whether as a result of
death, divorce separation or some other
circumstances.
3. TRAINING/LEARNING
- the acquisition of knowledge or skill.
It is a result of practice and
experience. It is the process by which
behavior changes as result of
experience or practice.
- is closely related to environment and
includes all the social, educational,
cultural, moral and religious agencies
with which the child comes in contact.
- Socio-cultural factors such as wars
and violence, discrimination,
economic and unemployment
problems are some aspects that may
lead to changes in an individual’s
behavior.
VIII. OTHER DETERMINANTS OF
BEHAVIOR
1. NEEDS – biological requirements
for a well being of an individual. This
need creates drives – a psychological
state of arousal that prompts someone
to take action. Needs are the triggering
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY
Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
Isabela State University | ECHAGUE
College of Criminal Justice Education
factor that drives or moves a person to
act.
2. DRIVES – an aroused state that
results from the biological need. The
arouse condition motivates the person
to remedy the need. In other words,
drives are those that are done by
people to fulfill or satisfy their needs.
3. MOTIVATIONS – refers to the
influences that govern the
commencement, initiation, direction,
intensity, and persistence of behavior.
Thus, motivations are the causes and
why’s of behavior as required by the
need. For example, a motivated
individual is engaged in a more active,
more vigorous, and more effective
than those unmotivated ones, thus, a
hungry person directs him to look for
food.
1. Need – It is the biological requirement for
the well being of an individual.
TYPES OF NEEDS
a. Biological Needs – refers to those which
must be satisfied by the body in order to
sustain life.
b. Psychological Needs – are influenced
primarily by the kind of society in which
the individual is raised. Psychological
motives are those related to the individual
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happiness and well being, but not for his
survival, unlike the biological motives that
focuses on basic needs – the primary
motives.
IX. CAUSATION OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
a. Biological Needs – Basic needs
such as food, water, etc…
b. Safety Needs – Motive of being
cared for or secured.
c. Love/Belongingness – Need for
affection and need for integration
with various social groups.
d. Esteem Needs – Motivation for
an honest fundamental respect for
a person as a useful and honorable
human being.
e. Cognitive Needs – Motivation for
learning and exploration.
f. Aesthetic Needs - Motivation for
beauty and order.
g. Self-Actualization – Pertains to
human total satisfaction
Self-Trans
h. Self-transcendence – a transgoic
cendence
(see Not e below) level
that Self
Actualization
Aesthetic
Needs
Esteem
Needs
Cognitive
Love/Belonging
ness
Safety Needs
Biological Needs
emphasizes visionary intuition,
altruism, and unity consciousness.
2. Frustration – It is a feeling that is
experienced when something interferes
with our hopes, wishes, plans and
expectations.
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY
Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
Isabela State University | ECHAGUE
College of Criminal Justice Education
3. Anxiety – An intangible feeling that
seems to evade any effort to resolve it.
4. Conflict – The simultaneous arousal of
two or more incompatible motives.
(Bautista & Guevara, 2008)
1. Sensation – the feeling or impression of
stimulus which are as follows:
a. Visual – sense of sight
b. Olfactory – sense of smell
c. Cutaneous – sense of touch or feeling
d. Auditory – sense of hearing
e. Gustatory – sense of taste
2. Perception – knowledge of stimulus.
 The process of using the senses to
acquire information about the
surrounding environment or
situation.
 In
psychology, process by which or
ganisms interpret and organize
sensation to produce a
meaningful experience of the
world.
 Note: Sensation usually refers to
the immediate, relatively
unprocessed result of stimulation
of sensory receptors in the eyes,
ears, nose, tongue, or skin.
Perception, on the other hand,
better describes one’s ultimate
experience of the world and
typically involves further
processing of sensory input. In
practice, sensation and perception
are virtually impossible to
separate, because they are part of
one continuous process.
3. Awareness – psychological activity
(according to interpretation and experience
of object or stimulus.
 Having knowledge of something
from having observed it or been
told about it.
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X. VIEWPOINTS IN THE STUDY OF
HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
1. Neurological – emphasizes human
behaviors as related to events taking place
inside the body, especially the brain and
the nervous system.
2. Behavioral – focuses on external
activities that can be observed and
measured.
3. Cognitive – is concerned with the way the
brain process and transforms information
in various ways.
4. Psychoanalytical – emphasized
unconscious motives coming from
repressed sexual and aggressive impulse in
childhood.
5. Humanistic – refers to the subject’s
experience, freedom of choice and
motivation toward self-actualization.
XI. PEOPLE INTERACTION AND
TRANSACTION
How do people interact? (Bautista & Guevara,
2008)
 People intermingle by three
psychological positions or
behavioral patterns called ego
states:
1. Parent ego state – which may be
characterized as protective, idealistic,
evaluative, righteous, refer to laws, rules
and standards.
2. Adult ego state – which centers more
upon reason, factual, flexible, views as co-
equal, worthy, and reasonable human
being.
3. Child ego state – This may be easily
described as dependent, rebellious, selfish,
demanding, impatient and emotional.
 TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY
Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
Isabela State University | ECHAGUE
College of Criminal Justice Education
 It is the study of social interactions of
people, the objective of which is to
provide better understanding of how
people relate to each other for the
development of improved communication
and better human relationship.
 CAUSES OF CONFLICT IN HUMAN
BEHAVIOR
1. Physical cause
 Refers to natural causes, like a
typhoon, an earthquake, a fire, a
flood, a storm.
2. Social conflicts
 Involve restrictions or rules in the
home, in school, in the
community.
3. Economic conflicts
 Results from one’s inability to
acquire material things because of
poverty or other financial
obligations.
 FRUSTRATION AND CONFLICT
What is frustration?
 Frustration refers to the unpleasant
feelings that result from the blocking of
motive satisfaction- that is, the feeling we
experience when something interferes with
our wishes, hopes, plans, and expectations.
Conflict as a Source of Frustration
Conflict refers to the simultaneous arousal
of two or more incompatible motives, resulting in
an unpleasant emotion. As a source of frustration,
it is the most common of the four sources.
The phrase “unpleasant emotion” is an
essential part of the definition. A person whose
motives are in conflict experiences anxiety,
uncertainly and the feeling of being torn and
distressed. This is why conflict is a potential threat
to normal behavior.
 BASIC TYPES OF CONFLICT
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1. Approach- Approach Conflicts. When a
person is motivated to engage in two
desirable activities that cannot be pursued
simultaneously, an approach –approach
conflict exists. If you are trying to choose
which of two motives to see or must
decide between going to a prestigious law
school versus accepting a lucrative job,
you face an approach-approach conflict.
As the importance of the decision
increases, so does the difficulty of making
it. Still, approach –approach conflicts are
usually resolved with relative ease.
2. Avoidance – avoidance conflicts. This
conflict arises when a person faces two
unattractive situations, and avoidance of
one forces exposure to the other. For
example, a woman with an unwanted
pregnancy may be morally opposed to
abortion. In this case, neither having the
baby nor terminating the pregnancy is
desirable. Like most avoidance –
avoidance conflicts, this is very difficult to
resolve and creates intense emotions.
3. Approach –avoidance conflict – When
one event or activity has both attractive
and unattractive features, an approach-
avoidance conflict is created. Acting to
attain the desirable features requires
exposure to the undesirable ones as well as
avoiding the negative features means
giving up something desirable. Consider,
for example, the dilemma of the student
who is offered a stolen copy of an
important final exam. Cheating will bring
guilt and reduce self-esteem, but also a
good grade.
4. Multiple approach-avoidance conflicts.
Suppose you must choose between two
jobs. One offer a high salary with a
prestigious organization but requires long
working hours and moving to miserable
climate. The other boasts plenty of
opportunity for advancement and good
fringe benefits, in better climate, but offers
lousy pay and an unpredictable work
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY
Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
Isabela State University | ECHAGUE
College of Criminal Justice Education
schedule. This is an example of a multiple
approach- avoidance conflict, a situation
in which a choice must be made between
two or more alternatives, each of which
has both positive and negative features.
Multiple approach-avoidance conflicts are
the most difficult to resolve, partly
because the features of each option are
often difficult to compare. For example,
how much is a good climate, “worthy” in
terms of unpredictable working hours? To
what extent the change will the chance for
rapid advancement compensate for a low
starting salary?
 SOURCES OF CONFLICT
ACCORDING TO SIGMUND FREUD
 According to Freud, when the
three primary structural elements of
personality (id, ego, and superego) are not
in harmonious relations, conflicts and
anxiety develops.
1. Id – works on pleasure principle
(demanding and unrealistic) and does not
care about morals, society, or other
individuals.
2. Ego – grows out from the id and works on
reality principle. It is the conscious part of
the mind which is patient and reasonable.
It seeks to satisfy the individual’s
instinctive need in accordance with reality.
3. Superego – is the moral branch of mental
functioning. The superego, a result of a
person's socialization, is basically just the
conscience, which mediates between
needs of the id and the ego.
 STRESS AND COPING
Stress
 Is any event or circumstances that
threatens the individual and requires some
form of coping reaction.
Coping
12

 Is the attempt by an individual to
deal with the source of stress and control his
or her reactions to it. It is the way, in which
we respond to the situations, including
stimuli, threats, and promises that we are
frequently faced.
 ANXIETY AND DEFENSE
MECHANISMS
Anxiety
 Is a feeling of emotional
discomfort. It is a state of tension
characterized by fear, dread or apprehension
and it is often accompanied by increased
physiological arousal. When coping fails,
frustration and anxiety develops.
Frustration and conflict generate anxiety
which must be relieved, and an anxiety-ridden
individual has to organize his behavior to reduce
this anxiety. When coping fails, the behavior
patterns used to protect an individual from pain,
shame, or guilt is known as DEFENSE
MECHANISM.
Defense mechanism is a way of reducing anxiety
by distorting reality.
 EGO DEFENSE MECHANISMS
 The unconscious techniques used
to prevent a person’s self image
from being damaged.
 CLASSIFICATIONS OF DEFENSE
MECHANISM
1. Aggressive Reaction (Fight). These take the
form of destructive or hostile attacks, done
physically or verbally, and directly on the
obstacle blocking him. Some of its important
forms include displaced aggression and
projection.
1.1 Displaced aggression. This is a defense
mechanism in which a person transfers
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY
Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
Isabela State University | ECHAGUE
College of Criminal Justice Education
and diverts his aggressive behavior against
himself or some other person or object
causing the frustration. This includes
scapegoating, free-floating anger and
suicide.
1.1.1 Scapegoating. Putting the blame
to other person or object directly for his
own fault or failure.
1.1.2 Free-floating anger. Hostility is
directed at almost anything or anybody.
1.1.3 Sublimation. A form of
displacement, that takes place when we
manage to displace our unacceptable
emotions into behaviours which are
constructive and socially acceptable,
rather than destructive activities.
1.1.4 Suicide. A self directed
displacement of aggression.
1.2 Projection. This is a defense mechanism
by which an individual projects or assigns
his own undesirable characteristics,
problems, impulses, desires, or thoughts to
others to reduce his own anxiety. The
child who cheat claim that others also
cheat.
2. Withdrawal Reaction (Flight). Retreating or
running away from threatening situations. It
includes the following important forms:
2.1 Fantasy or daydreaming. It provides
relief from frustration by a satisfying
imaginative fulfillment of desires. It
includes conquering-hero type and
suffering-hero type or martyr type.
2.2 Repression. Threatening or painful
thoughts and desires are excluded from
consciousness.
2.3 Nomadism. Person continually wanders
from place to place or situation in his
12

attempt to get away from frustrating
condition.
3. Compromise Reaction. These involve the
lowering of one’s level of aspiration of the
acceptance of a substitute goal for one that is
desired. Some of its form includes:
3.1 Compensation. Person attempts to
overcome what he feels are personal
limitation by emphasizing the desirable
ones. Example, a student fails in Math
may try to save his ego or self-esteem by
trying to excel in athletics.
3.2 Rationalization. Plausible but false
reasons are devised by the individual to
explain and justify his behavior that is
deemed to result in loss of self-esteem or
social approval. It is making excuses or
giving socially acceptable reasons instead
of the real ones. It includes sour-grapes
mechanism and sweet-lemon mechanism.
3.2.1 Sour-grapes mechanism is attitude
whereby a person unable to obtain
what he wants maintains that he did
not want it anyway.
3.2.2 Sweet-lemon mechanism is the
attitude of accepting something you
really do not want.
 OTHER TYPES OF EGO DEFENSE
MECHANISMS
1. Denial of Reality - Denial is a defense
mechanism proposed by Anna Freud
which involves a refusal to accept reality,
thus blocking external events from
awareness.
- If a situation is just too much to
handle, the person may respond by
refusing to perceive it or by denying
that it exist.
- For example, a husband may refuse to
recognise obvious signs of his wife’s
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY
Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
Isabela State University | ECHAGUE
College of Criminal Justice Education
infidelity. A student may refuse to
recognise their obvious lack of
preparedness for an exam!
2. Projection - Projection is a psychological
defense mechanism proposed by Anna
Freud in which an individual attributes
unwanted thoughts, feelings and motives
onto another person.
3. Displacement - Displacement is the
redirection of an impulse (usually
aggression) onto a powerless substitute
target. The target can be a person or an
object that can serve as a symbolic
substitute.
- Displacement occurs when the Id
wants to do something of which the
Super ego does not permit. The Ego
thus finds some other way of releasing
the psychic energy of the Id. Thus
there is a transfer of energy from a
repressed object-cathexis to a more
acceptable object.
4. Regression - Regression is a defense
mechanism proposed by Anna Freud
whereby the ego reverts to an earlier stage
of development usually in response to
stressful situations.
- Regression functions as form of
retreat, enabling a person to
psychologically go back in time to a
period when the person felt safer.
5. Repression - Repression is an
unconscious defense mechanism
employed by the ego to keep disturbing or
threatening thoughts from becoming
conscious.
6. Sublimation - Sublimation is similar to
displacement, but takes place when we
manage to displace our unacceptable
emotions into behaviours which are
constructive and socially acceptable,
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rather than destructive activities.
Sublimation is one of Anna Freud's
original defense mechanisms.
7. Introjections - Identifying with some idea
or object so deeply that it becomes a part
of that person. For example, introjection
occurs when we take on attributes of other
people who seem better able to cope with
the situation than we do.
Isabela State University | ECHAGUE
College of Criminal Justice Education
9. Rationalization - is a defense mechanism
proposed by Anna Freud involving a
cognitive distortion of "the facts" to make
an event or an impulse less threatening.
We do it often enough on a fairly
conscious level when we provide
ourselves with excuses.

8. Undoing - A person tries to 'undo' an

unhealthy, destructive or otherwise
threatening thought by acting out the
reverse of the unacceptable. Involves
symbolically nullifying an unacceptable or
guilt provoking thought, idea, or feeling
by confession or atonement.

HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMOLOGY

Reginald C. Sibug, MS CRIM.
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