Terrence's father abandoned him and his mother when he was six years old. when asked about hisfather, he says that his father died. although his father has tried to contact him, terrence insists thathis father is dead. which of the following elements of freudian theory would best explain terrence'sbehavior?

a. electra complex
b. oedipus complex
c. defense mechanism
d. penis envy

Defense mechanism

Explanation:

A defense mechanism is a psychological strategy that has been used unconsciously by a person to prevent themselves from anxiety stress and depression. All people use defense mechanisms in their life in the day to day activities. Ego defense is used when we want to protect ourselves from anxiety and other situation that occurs due to conflict in our personality development stages.

When our Id gets too demanding, we used defense mechanism. Defense mechanism was proposed by Sigmund Freud and His daughter Anna Freud. The defense mechanism is used at the level of unconsciousness and avoid unpleasant things and situation.