What mechanism of defense is being used by the middle-sized monkey?
There is a classic zoo story about a cage with 3 monkeys in it. The largest monkey steals the middle-sized monkey's banana. The middle-sized monkey then screams with rage, hits the smallest monkey on the head, and then steals his banana.
Displacement-this is an example of displacement. in this defense mechanism, there is a transfer of emotion from a person, object, or situation with which it is appropriately associated to another that causes less distress. displacement is common and often destructive to other individuals, such as when a man is fired from his job and subsequently beats his wife or children. in the medical setting, the hospital staff is a frequent target of displacement when farnly members react to their own feelings of guilt about someones death.
projection occurs when someone attributes his or her own thoughts to a different person. reaction formation is the unconscious adoption of behavlor opposite to ones true feelings. regression is the adoption of behavior more appropriate to a younger age.
repression is the deeply subconscious blocking of memories or emotions.
buxbauming is a severe behavioral disorder in which the person has extreme delusions of their intellect and importance. they tend to present very detailed stories with lots of insignificant details, then ask question which require even more details that were not presented in the original manotonous story. by presenting an unsolvable problem, the patient demonstrates his superiotity over the rest of the world. an even better definition, though longer, would be to just combine all other dsm disorders into one.