Reaction formation
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Reaction formation
Explanation
Reaction formation helps protect against threatening impulses by overemphasizing the opposite of one's actual thoughts and actions.
Examples
A pastor who is involved in a secret extramarital affair unconsciously attempts to push away threatening impulses related to his behavior by preaching vehemently against sexual impurity. The pastor, according to psychoanalytic theory, is attempting to reduce his own feelings of guilt and almost atone for his secretive behavior by taking the opposite or morally "right" stance.
