By dissociating key parts of personality, people are able to keep ___________ from reaching conscious awareness, thereby reducing their anxiety.

a)symptoms
b)compulsions
c)confused thoughts
d)disturbing memories

By dissociating key parts of personality, people are able to keep (d) disturbing memories from reaching conscious awareness, thereby reducing their anxiety.

The correct answer is d) disturbing memories.

When individuals dissociate key parts of their personality, they create a separation between conscious awareness and certain aspects of their personality or experiences. This can be a defense mechanism used to cope with traumatic or distressing events. By dissociating disturbing memories, individuals are able to keep them from reaching conscious awareness, which in turn reduces their anxiety.

To arrive at this answer, it's important to understand the concept of dissociation and how it can be used as a coping mechanism. Additionally, knowledge of anxiety reduction strategies can help you eliminate the other options and conclude that disturbing memories are the most likely answer.