A man has cheated on his wife and he feels very guilty, but soon he begins to make excuses, saying how his wife has nagged him for years. The defense mechanism that BEST explains his behavior is:
A) rationalization
B) denial
C) regression
D) projection
I believe the answer may be rationalization because he is making excuses and creating a socially acceptable reason for his cheating. I can also see where this might be projection because he his attributing his actions to his wife. I am more inclined to pick rationalization though.
Agree, "making excuses" is rationalization.
he is rationalizing what he did out of guilt
so yes the answer is, A.)
You're on the right track! The defense mechanism that BEST explains the man's behavior in this scenario is indeed rationalization (option A). Rationalization is a defense mechanism where individuals provide seemingly logical, but false, explanations or justifications for their behavior in order to avoid feeling guilty or responsible.
In this case, the man cheated on his wife and then began making excuses, blaming his wife's nagging behavior as the reason behind his actions. By rationalizing his behavior, he is attempting to alleviate his guilt by assigning external factors that he perceives as a legitimate justification for his actions.
On the other hand, projection (option D) would involve the man attributing his own unacceptable thoughts or feelings onto his wife, i.e., accusing her of nagging as a means to deflect from his own guilt. Projection doesn't fully capture the aspect of making justifications or excuses for his actions, which is more aligned with rationalization.
So, in summary, the most appropriate defense mechanism to explain the man's behavior in this scenario is rationalization, as it involves creating false justifications or excuses to alleviate guilt.