Look up: reaction-formation

1. 
   reaction formation
   [n] - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously develops attitudes and behavior that are the opposite of unacceptable repressed desires and impulses and serve to conceal them
   Found on http://www.webdictionary.co.uk/definitio
   
   
2. 
   reaction formation
   In psychoanalysis, a postulated defense mechanism in which attitudes and behaviours that are adopted are the opposites of that which the individual would ordinarily be expected to express and actually feel at an unconscious level. ... (05 Mar 2000) ...
   Found on http://www.mondofacto.com/facts/dictiona
   
   
3. 
   reaction formation
   noun (psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously develops attitudes and behavior that are the opposite of unacceptable repressed desires and impulses and serve to conceal them; `his strict morality is just a reaction formation to hide his sexual drive`
   Found on http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?
   
   
4. 
   Reaction formation
   In Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, `reaction formation` is a defense mechanism in which anxiety-producing or unacceptable emotions are replaced by their direct opposites. This mechanism is often characteristic of obsessional neuroses. When this mechanism is overused, especially during the formation of the ego, it can become a permanent character trait. This is often seen in those with obsessional character and obsessive personality disorde...
   Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_fo
   
   
5. 
   reaction formation
   (from the article `defense mechanism`) 2. Reaction formation is the fixation in consciousness of an idea, affect, or desire that is opposite to a feared unconscious impulse. A mother who ... ...of those drives. Other methods of defense include repression, a kind of withholding of conflicting ideas from recall; projection, the attributio...
   Found on http://www.britannica.com/eb/a-z/r/17
   
   
6. 
   reaction-formation
   (re-ak´shәn for-ma´shәn) a type of defense mechanism in which a person assumes an attitude that is the reverse of some infantile wish or impulse that he or she still feels.
   Found on http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns
   
   
7. 
   reaction-formation
   reaction-formation: see defense mechanism.
   Found on http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A09180