What are the ego's strategies to protect against anxiety called?

The concept of defense mechanisms refers to the psychological strategies that the ego employs to manage anxiety and protect an individual from uncomfortable thoughts or feelings. These mechanisms operate at an unconscious level and help individuals cope with stressors and maintain psychological equilibrium.

For instance, common defense mechanisms include repression, where painful or unacceptable thoughts are expelled from consciousness; projection, where an individual attributes their own undesirable qualities or feelings onto someone else; and rationalization, where a person creates logical explanations to justify behaviors that evoke anxiety.

These mechanisms are essential in understanding human behavior, as they offer insights into how individuals may unconsciously avoid confronting reality or managing emotional conflicts. The other options, while related to psychological processes, do not specifically refer to the strategies used by the ego to protect against anxiety. This makes the concept of defense mechanisms central to the understanding of coping strategies in the realm of psychology.