Humor: which defense mechanism involves using humor to cope with stress?

Humor: which defense mechanism involves using humor to cope with stress?

• A. Altruism
• B. Sublimation
• C. Suppression
• D. Humor

Answer: (D)

Using humor to cope with stress diffuses tension by reframing the situation and eliciting laughter, which lowers arousal and helps maintain self-esteem and social connections. It’s a way to acknowledge stress while retaining a constructive perspective, making it a mature and adaptive defense in many situations. The other options don’t fit this mechanism: altruism involves helping others to cope, not dealing with one’s own stress through humor; sublimation redirects impulses into productive activities; suppression is a conscious, deliberate withholding of thoughts or feelings instead of using humor to lighten affect.

Using humor to cope with stress diffuses tension by reframing the situation and eliciting laughter, which lowers arousal and helps maintain self-esteem and social connections. It’s a way to acknowledge stress while retaining a constructive perspective, making it a mature and adaptive defense in many situations. The other options don’t fit this mechanism: altruism involves helping others to cope, not dealing with one’s own stress through humor; sublimation redirects impulses into productive activities; suppression is a conscious, deliberate withholding of thoughts or feelings instead of using humor to lighten affect.