A person cannot recall a traumatic event but continues daily life with intact functioning.

A person cannot recall a traumatic event but continues daily life with intact functioning.

• A. Dissociation
• B. Denial
• C. Introjection
• D. Rationalization

Answer: (A)

Dissociation is a defense mechanism in which painful memories or feelings are separated from conscious awareness, allowing the person to function in daily life while the traumatic event remains inaccessible. In this scenario, the person continues to function normally but cannot recall the traumatic event, which fits dissociation because memory retrieval is disrupted and awareness is compartmentalized rather than openly denied or rationalized. Denial would involve refusing to accept the reality of the event, not a failure to recall it. Introjection involves internalizing others’ attributes or voices, not a gap in memory. Rationalization is creating logical reasons to justify the event, not an amnesia-like separation from memory.

Dissociation is a defense mechanism in which painful memories or feelings are separated from conscious awareness, allowing the person to function in daily life while the traumatic event remains inaccessible. In this scenario, the person continues to function normally but cannot recall the traumatic event, which fits dissociation because memory retrieval is disrupted and awareness is compartmentalized rather than openly denied or rationalized.

Denial would involve refusing to accept the reality of the event, not a failure to recall it. Introjection involves internalizing others’ attributes or voices, not a gap in memory. Rationalization is creating logical reasons to justify the event, not an amnesia-like separation from memory.