reaction formation

American  

[ree-ak-shuhn fawr-mey-shuhn] / riˈæk ʃən fɔrˌmeɪ ʃən /

noun

Psychoanalysis, Psychology.

1. a defense mechanism in which a repressed impulse is expressed through behavior that is in direct opposition.

   An inferiority complex manifesting as narcissistic personalty disorder is a classic reaction formation.

---

reaction formation British  

noun

1. psychoanal a defence mechanism by which a person at a conscious level condemns a repressed wish: thus, a latent homosexual may denounce homosexuality

---

Etymology

Origin of reaction formation

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Sigmund Freud referred to projection, sublimation, reaction formation, displacement—all tools of self-distancing from problems that touch the ego too profoundly.

From Scientific American

All the time, he was talking about denial, repression, splitting, reaction formation and ego-defense mechanisms.

From Scientific American

Now we know from neuropsychology that burning ambition in later years represents a reaction formation to infantile bed wetting.

From Project Gutenberg

Only now and then have we found in the dream traces of reaction formations, as, for instance, the tenderness toward friend R. in the "uncle dream."

From Project Gutenberg

But in general it is necessary to separate from each other sublimation and reaction formation as two diverse processes.

From Project Gutenberg