According to the psychodynamic perspective on personality, repression refers to the defense mechanism by which people:

• A. consciously choose to forget unpleasant experiences
• B. redirect their emotions toward a safer substitute target
• C. rationalize their behavior by creating logical explanations
• D. unconsciously block unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or memories from conscious awareness

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that the psychodynamic perspective on personality, founded by Freud, emphasizes unconscious processes influencing behavior and personality.
2. Recognize that defense mechanisms are unconscious strategies used by the ego to protect the individual from anxiety or distress caused by unacceptable thoughts or feelings.
3. Identify repression as a specific defense mechanism where the mind unconsciously blocks or pushes away distressing thoughts, feelings, or memories so they do not enter conscious awareness.
4. Differentiate repression from other defense mechanisms such as conscious forgetting (which is not unconscious), displacement (redirecting emotions), and rationalization (creating logical explanations).
5. Conclude that repression involves an unconscious process, meaning the individual is not aware that these thoughts or feelings are being blocked from consciousness.