A mother reports her 3-year-old hit her doll after scolding for picking neighbors' flowers. Which defense mechanism is demonstrated?

• A. Denial
• B. Projection
• C. Displacement
• D. Repression

Answer: (C)

Redirecting feelings from the real trigger to a safer target is displacement. After being scolded for taking flowers, the child likely feels anger or frustration but may not express it toward the caregiver. Instead, hitting the doll lets the child vent that emotion without directly confronting the source. The doll becomes a substitute outlet for the aggression.

Denial would involve ignoring or denying what happened; projection would involve attributing one’s own unacceptable feelings to someone else; repression would push distressing thoughts out of awareness. These do not fit the observed behavior as precisely as displacement, which is about shifting emotion to a harmless substitute. This is a typical way young children express feelings they can’t fully recognize or manage yet.