Reactive formation, a surprising defense mechanism

Reaction formation is a defense mechanism. It happens when someone experiences an instinctive or, in any case, unconscious desire, which he consciously rejects. This leads him to develop the opposite impulse to the one he rejects.

An example can help us understand it better. Suppose a woman does not agree with the way her mother is, who is controlling. This rejection leads her to incubate hatred for the way her mother tries to intervene and limit her life. such hatred He also finds it repulsive: deep down he feels that he is a bad person for feeling hate. towards his mother. Then she develops reactive training behavior: she goes out of her way to care for and please her mother.

Obviously, this mechanism Reactive formation is formed and takes place in the unconscious. The person does not realize that he has developed it. Simply, as in our example, there is a strong impulse to act in a certain way. What reveals this process is the exaggeration of the demonstrations.

Freud and reaction formation

The first to describe this defense mechanism was Sigmund Freud in his first descriptions of obsessional neuroses. According to Freud, Reactive formation takes place when the subject fights against a painful unconscious desire and replaces it with a “primary defense symptom.”also called “countersymptom”.

One of the most representative examples, used by Freud, to refer to this mechanism is the neatness, conscientiousness and modesty that many adolescents and adults develop. For the author, these are reactive formations that are in obvious contradiction with the desires of infantile sexuality to which the subject was immersed early.

That said, it would then be a “successful defense”, to the extent that the components that intervene in the conflict, both the unconscious desire and the censored “reproach” (the affect associated with the representation), have been globally expelled from consciousness in favor of attitudes or behaviors that represent extreme moral virtues.

Reactive training, overprotection and laxity

One of the most typical cases of reactive training is the opposite of our first example. It happens when a mother or a parent harbors hidden resentments or feelings of rejection for their children. All social mandates assure you that you must love them unconditionally. Therefore, hostility towards children gives rise to unconscious feelings of guilt.

The usual thing is that in these cases the reactive formation gives rise to a strong need to overprotect them.. What do they actually protect them from so much? From his own feeling of hostility towards them. They fear that your rejection will hurt them. Overprotecting them is a way to avoid that damage, or to repair it. Controlling mothers or fathers then emerge, who encourage dependency in their children.

The opposite also occurs. unconscious feelings of guilt give rise to limitless laxity. Basically, they let their children do whatever they want.. They do not set limits on them as a wrong way to compensate for the rejection they feel towards them. In the end, they encourage irresponsible attitudes and harmful behaviors in them. They turn them into demanding and dependent people.

Other cases of reactive formation

Other very common cases of reactive formation occur in men called “macho” or in women wrongly called “feminazis”. Sometimes a man does not tolerate his own fragility, because he has been taught that any show of sensitivity or tenderness calls into question his masculinity. That’s why They become falsely tough and reckless people, imposing anguish on themselves. and unnecessary challenges. Something similar happens with women who are hypersensitive to any manifestation of masculinity.

There are also cases that go a little further. They are realities in which the defense mechanism is more intense and profound, giving rise to extremely rigid behaviors, which become compulsive.

Then what we commonly call “fanatical people” appear.. They feel strong sexual impulses and become the standard bearers of chastity. They even beat themselves up for having a “wet dream.” Or those who live sacrificing themselves for others, going to extremes. They are probably trying to get rid of a feeling of unconscious guilt.

Types of reactive training

Depending on the intensity of compensatory behaviors and their importance, we can speak of two types of reactive training: localized and generalized.

Localized reactive formation

It occurs when the person’s repressed desire is not central to the structure and functioning of his personality. Because of this, the reactive behaviors they carry out are usually not too intrusive to their well-being. Additionally, it focuses on one area of ​​the individual’s life. In this way, the most negative symptoms caused by this defense mechanism will not appear often.

Generalized reactive training

It involves desires and behaviors that are much more central to the person. People with generalized reaction formation unconsciously want to avoid one of their main desires. Therefore, the alternative behaviors they adopt are generally very rigid, and can take control of their lives. Furthermore, they often lead to all kinds of problems.

Know each other, always know each other…

It is important to insist on the fact that people are not aware of this entire process.. They neither recognize the feelings or desires they reject, nor do they realize that they develop impulses to cover them up. There is self-deception and also unclear behavior towards others, but all of this is not deliberate.

Sometimes reactive training covers not only one person, but an entire group. A family, an ideological group, a work team, etc.. These environments sometimes fuel guilt in the face of certain subjective realities. For example, they idealize love and put it on a plane of perfection and not in human terms, that is, imperfect. This favors the formation of these defense mechanisms.

There are cases in which reactive training becomes a very strong obstacle to progress. It imposes itself and even affects the entire life of a person. In those situations, it can become a risk to physical and mental health. At that point, the only reasonable solution is a psychotherapy that facilitates the emergence and appropriation of unconscious contents.

Evidence of reaction formation

While not all defense mechanisms have withstood research scrutiny, many studies have provided compelling evidence of reaction formation.

In a review on reaction formation, it was found that studies have shown that people use reaction formation as a defense mechanism to defend the ego. This study revealed that, in research, when self-esteem was threatened, people responded by claiming to believe the opposite of their true feelings. In one study, women who had high levels of sexual guilt reported having lower levels of arousal when They were exposed to erotic stimuli, however, physiological measures revealed that they were actually more aroused. One investigation found that when white participants were told that physiological records showed they held racist beliefs about black people, they gave more to a black panhandler. after leaving the lab than those who had not been accused of racism. In another study, researchers found that when there was a discrepancy between participants’ implicit and explicit sexual orientation, they were more likely to look hostile toward who identified as homosexual.

These studies allow us to observe how, in different situations, people support one point of view, while unconsciously feeling the exact opposite.

Is reactive training harmful?

This defense mechanism is a way to protect ourselves from the anxiety and tension caused by the constant struggle between the Id and the Superego. Therefore, heReactive training should not be considered something negative. However, it could cause all kinds of problems when used pathologically. People who use it often tend to adopt behaviors that are very harmful to their own psyche.

To treat this type of defenses, when they become a health problem, it is best to work with a therapist to identify them. The purpose would be to explore and accept the thoughts, desires, feelings or impulses that caused the anxiety that led to the reaction formation.. This can be a challenging and lengthy process.

Finally, reactive formations seek to transform an unacceptable or socially frowned upon feeling, idea into its opposite, with the aim of making it more acceptable to the demands of the Superego, so that they have an implicit regulatory function, like all ego defenses.

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