_______ are coping strategies that help you protect yourself from difficult feelings.
A. Defense mechanisms
B. Learned emotions
C. Primary emotions
D. Secondary emotions
The correct answer is A. Defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms are psychological strategies that we use unconsciously to protect ourselves from difficult feelings or thoughts. They serve as a way to reduce anxiety and preserve our self-esteem. Examples of defense mechanisms include denial, repression, projection, rationalization, and displacement.
To find the correct answer, it is helpful to understand the definitions and characteristics of the options given:
A. Defense mechanisms: These are coping strategies that help protect us from difficult feelings. They are an important part of our psychological defense system.
B. Learned emotions: This term refers to emotions that are acquired through experience and socialization. For example, we learn to feel fear or anger in response to certain situations.
C. Primary emotions: These are basic and universal emotions that are believed to be biologically innate. Examples include happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and surprise.
D. Secondary emotions: Secondary emotions are more complex emotions that arise from primary emotions. They may involve a combination of primary emotions and cognitive processes, such as guilt, shame, or envy.
By understanding the definitions and characteristics of each option, we can see that defense mechanisms align most closely with the concept of coping strategies to protect ourselves from difficult feelings. Thus, the correct answer is A. Defense mechanisms.