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reaction formation

DEFINITIONS OF: reaction formation

1

n (psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously develops attitudes and behavior that are the opposite of unacceptable repressed desires and impulses and serve to conceal them

“his strict morality is just a reaction formation to hide his sexual drive”
Type of:
defence, defence mechanism, defence reaction, defense, defense mechanism, defense reaction
(psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
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