Match Mechanism #: _____
CASE B
Sarah failed her math exam because she stayed up until 3:00 AM on her phone. She tells her parents: "The questions were totally unfair anyway, so studying wouldn't have helped me pass."
Match Mechanism #: _____
CASE C
Jordan gets yelled at by his soccer coach. He holds in his frustration, but when he gets home, he slams his front door and immediately starts screaming at his sister for leaving a textbook on the couch.
Match Mechanism #: _____
CASE D
On her first night away at an elite academic camp, 16-year-old Maya feels incredibly homesick and overwhelmed. She curls up under her blanket, sucks her thumb, and cries herself to sleep.
Match Mechanism #: _____
CASE E
Chloe is extremely jealous of her classmate Jenna's popularity on the debate team. Rather than admitting her jealousy, Chloe tells friends: "Jenna is secretly obsessed with me and is trying to ruin my life!"
Match Mechanism #: _____
CASE F
Liam is warned by his athletic trainer that drinking 4 energy drinks a day is causing severe heart palpitations. Liam laughs and says, "Energy drinks are literally just vitamins and water. I am in perfect health."
Match Mechanism #: _____
CASE G
Tyler has a massive crush on Hailey but is terrified his friends will tease him. To hide this, Tyler makes mean, sarcastic comments about Hailey and ignores her completely whenever they walk past each other.
Match Mechanism #: _____
CASE H
Ava struggles with intense anger issues and urges to fight people at school. To channel this power, she joins the high school rugby team, utilizing the physical contact to release her aggression constructively.
Match Mechanism #: _____
CASE I
Daniel feels deeply insecure about his slow reading skills and failing grades. To offset his academic self-doubt, he trains 4 hours a day on the basketball court, striving to become the school's star athlete.
Match Mechanism #: _____
CASE A_____
CASE B_____
CASE C_____
CASE D_____
CASE E_____
CASE F_____
CASE G_____
CASE H_____
CASE I_____
Critical Thinking Prompt:
Pick one match. Why is it healthy in the short term, but potentially unhealthy if used long term? Write below.
UNIT II: COGNITIVE & PSYCHODYNAMIC LABS PAGE 2 OF 2
Mechanism: ____________
UNIT II: PSYCHODYNAMIC ASSESSMENTS PAGE 1 OF 2
Advanced Case Analysis & Mind Balancing
CASE RECORDS
SECTION C (CONT.)
DIAGNOSIS 3
A high school senior has their college application rejected. They tell their friends, "Honestly, I never really wanted to go to that school anyway, so I don't care at all," even though they cried for hours alone.
Mechanism: ____________
DIAGNOSIS 4
A college student gets defensive and accuses their clean roommate of being "a total slob who never cleans anything," when in reality, the speaker is the one leaving clutter everywhere.
Mechanism: ____________
DIAGNOSIS 5
A business manager feels highly insecure about their public speaking abilities. To make up for this, they work long nights to ensure their written department reports are always perfectly organized and flawless.
Mechanism: ____________
SECTION D
Q1. Contrast the Pleasure Principle with the Reality Principle. How does the Ego's mediation differ from the Id's biological drives?
Write your response inside the clinical case note area below:
Q2. Freud states that defense mechanisms become unhealthy when they lead a person to ignore underlying issues. Explain this warning using a specific mechanism of your choice as an example.
Write your response inside the clinical case note area below:
UNIT II: PSYCHODYNAMIC ASSESSMENTS PAGE 2 OF 2
8. Sublimation: socially acceptable
9. Compensation: inferiority
KEY PART C
Match key for cases A through I with the corresponding defense mechanisms from Page 1:
CASE A#01 (Rep)
CASE B#02 (Rat)
CASE C#03 (Dis)
CASE D#04 (Reg)
CASE E#05 (Pro)
CASE F#06 (Den)
CASE G#07 (Rea)
CASE H#08 (Sub)
CASE I#09 (Com)
UNIT II: PSYCHODYNAMIC KEY PERSPECTIVES PAGE 1 OF 2
Educator Reference Keys for Student Review Sheets
SOLUTIONS GUIDE
KEY SECTION A & B
KEY SECTION C
Diagnosis 1 (Weightlifter): Sublimation (channeling boss anger constructively into fitness).
Diagnosis 2 (Plagiarist student): Rationalization (making logical excuses/saying "everyone does it").
Diagnosis 3 (Rejected senior): Denial or Reaction Formation (refusing to accept reality / acting like they do not care).
Diagnosis 4 (Messy roommate): Projection (attributing own messy faults directly onto others).
Diagnosis 5 (Manager reports): Compensation (covering up bad public speaking by excelling in writing).
KEY SECTION D
Q1 Grading Guide (Pleasure vs. Reality Principle):
Students must state that the Pleasure Principle demands immediate satisfaction of biological urges (hunger, sex, anger) with zero regard for rules or logic. In contrast, the Reality Principle guides the Ego to weigh real-world consequences, laws, and moral restrictions, seeking healthy compromises that appease the Id without triggering the Superego's shame.
Q2 Grading Guide (Why mechanisms become unhealthy):
Students must explain that while mechanisms protect the Ego from short-term anxiety, over-relying on them leads to ignoring reality and failing to fix the root cause of distress. Example response: "In Denial, if a heavy smoker denies that lung cancer is a threat, they protect their peace of mind in the short term. However, long term, they ignore the threat, continue smoking, and run a severe risk of death because they refuse to solve the actual physical issue."
UNIT II: PSYCHODYNAMIC KEY PERSPECTIVES PAGE 2 OF 2
