Which defense mechanism uses behavior appropriate to an earlier developmental stage to cope with insecurity in the present?

Which defense mechanism uses behavior appropriate to an earlier developmental stage to cope with insecurity in the present?

• A. Regression
• B. Repression
• C. Undoing
• D. Denial

Answer: (A)

Regression is a defense mechanism in which a person reverts to behaviors typical of an earlier developmental stage to manage present insecurity or anxiety. When faced with stress, returning to childlike, familiar patterns—such as seeking constant reassurance, clinginess, or simple, immature rituals—can feel safer because those behaviors once helped reduce distress. This shift is usually unconscious, not a deliberate choice, and it serves to temporarily lessen the sense of threat by tapping into earlier coping strategies. Repression involves pushing painful thoughts out of awareness, denial means refusing to acknowledge reality, and undoing is trying to symbolically cancel out a thought or action through a compensatory act. None of these involve adopting earlier developmental behaviors to cope in the moment, which is why regression best fits the situation described.

Regression is a defense mechanism in which a person reverts to behaviors typical of an earlier developmental stage to manage present insecurity or anxiety. When faced with stress, returning to childlike, familiar patterns—such as seeking constant reassurance, clinginess, or simple, immature rituals—can feel safer because those behaviors once helped reduce distress. This shift is usually unconscious, not a deliberate choice, and it serves to temporarily lessen the sense of threat by tapping into earlier coping strategies.

Repression involves pushing painful thoughts out of awareness, denial means refusing to acknowledge reality, and undoing is trying to symbolically cancel out a thought or action through a compensatory act. None of these involve adopting earlier developmental behaviors to cope in the moment, which is why regression best fits the situation described.