A student tells a college counselor that he is not upset by receiving an F in physical education because 'straight A students are eggheads.' This demonstrates which defense mechanism?

A student tells a college counselor that he is not upset by receiving an F in physical education because 'straight A students are eggheads.' This demonstrates which defense mechanism?

• A. Denial
• B. Projection
• C. Sour grapes rationalization
• D. Identification

Answer: (C)

The main idea tested here is how people cope with disappointment after a failure by reframing the situation to protect self-esteem. The student isn’t denying the grade or projecting his feelings onto someone else; instead, he minimizes the importance of the goal by belittling the people who typically achieve it—calling straight-A students “eggheads.” This is an example of sour grapes rationalization: the failure is explained away by disparaging the value of the achievement, allowing him to feel okay about not meeting it. Denial would involve refusing to acknowledge the F, projection would attribute his feelings to others, and identification would involve adopting someone else’s traits, none of which fit as well as this rationalization.

The main idea tested here is how people cope with disappointment after a failure by reframing the situation to protect self-esteem. The student isn’t denying the grade or projecting his feelings onto someone else; instead, he minimizes the importance of the goal by belittling the people who typically achieve it—calling straight-A students “eggheads.” This is an example of sour grapes rationalization: the failure is explained away by disparaging the value of the achievement, allowing him to feel okay about not meeting it. Denial would involve refusing to acknowledge the F, projection would attribute his feelings to others, and identification would involve adopting someone else’s traits, none of which fit as well as this rationalization.