Unleash Your Inner Social Worker: Master the SWES Human Behavior Exam 2025!

Sublimation is the defense mechanism that involves redirecting instinctual drives, particularly those that are socially unacceptable or potentially harmful, into socially acceptable and productive activities. This concept, rooted in psychoanalytic theory, is seen as a positive adaptation that allows individuals to transform negative impulses or emotions into something constructive.

For example, someone experiencing anger might channel that energy into intense physical activity such as sports, artwork, or writing. This not only helps in managing the underlying instinctual drive but also benefits both the individual and society, as it produces positive outputs.

This contrasts with other defense mechanisms. Repression involves unknowingly burying distressing thoughts and feelings, regression indicates a return to earlier, less mature behaviors as a way to cope with stress, and denial refers to refusing to accept reality or facts to protect oneself from uncomfortable truths. While each of these mechanisms serves a function, they do not involve the positive redirection of drives into acceptable social behaviors as sublimation does.