A husband accuses his wife of infidelity. Which situation would indicate to the nurse the husbands use of the ego defense mechanism of projection?
-
A
The husband cries and stamps his feet, demanding that his wife be true to her marriage vows.
-
B
The husband ignores the wifes continued absence from the home.
-
C
The husband has already admitted to having an affair with a coworker.
-
D
The husband takes out his marital frustrations through employee abuse.
The best way to answer the question is The husband has already admitted to having an affair with a coworker..
A. The husband cries and stamps his feet, demanding that his wife be true to her marriage vows.
This could seem tempting if the idea in “The husband cries and stamps his feet, demanding that his wife be true to her marriage vows.” addresses a different mechanism or priority than the one emphasized by the stem The wording does not track the stem’s main cue, so selecting it would shift the nurse away from the most precise interpretation or priority.
B. The husband ignores the wifes continued absence from the home.
This would apply in a different scenario where the idea in “The husband ignores the wifes continued absence from the home.” addresses a different mechanism or priority than the one emphasized by the stem The wording does not track the stem’s main cue, so selecting it would shift the nurse away from the most precise interpretation or priority.
C. The husband has already admitted to having an affair with a coworker.
This aligns with the concept that Projection is the attribution of feelings or impulses unacceptable to ones self to another person. In this situation, the husband attributes his infidelity to his wife. Need: Psychosocial Integrity Ego defenses can reduce anxiety in the short term, but they become clinically relevant when they distort reality enough to interfere with insight, relationships, or treatment adherence. From a nursing standpoint, this selection guides assessment and interventions toward what is most clinically meaningful in the moment—risk reduction, safety, accurate appraisal, and support for adaptive coping.
D. The husband takes out his marital frustrations through employee abuse.
This could seem tempting if the idea in “The husband takes out his marital frustrations through employee abuse.” addresses a different mechanism or priority than the one emphasized by the stem The wording does not track the stem’s main cue, so selecting it would shift the nurse away from the most precise interpretation or priority.
Conclusion
What separates the best choice from the rest is specificity: the correct option addresses the exact mechanism, stage, or principle described. The other answers relate to nearby ideas, yet they miss the question’s focal point or misapply the concept to the situation.