SELF-DECEPTION AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL DEFENSE MECHANISM: RELATIONSHIP WITH DEFENSIVE BEHAVIORAL STYLES AND ANXIETY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32689/maup.psych.2026.1.3Keywords:
self-deception, psychological defense mechanism, defensive behavioral styles, anxiety, correlational analysis, psychological adaptationAbstract
Background. Under conditions of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, self-deception as a psychological defense mechanism acquires special significance for understanding personal adaptation processes. Purpose. To theoretically substantiate and empirically investigate self-deception as a psychological defense mechanism in its relationship with defensive behavioral styles and anxiety levels under conditions of contemporary wartime reality. Materials and Methods. The sample comprised 50 participants (32 women, 18 men; M=28.3; SD=6.7) aged 18– 45 – students and professionals of Odesa (2025–2026). Methods applied: Self-Deception Questionnaire (SDQ; adapted by O. Yu. Kosianova, 2025), Life Style Index (LSI; R. Plutchik, H. Conte), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; C. D. Spielberger – Yu. L. Khanin), descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation analysis (SPSS Statistics 23.0). Results. Self-deception is predominantly moderate (M=39.51; 58%); mature defense mechanisms dominate (rationalisation M=7.12; compensation M=6.38); anxiety is elevated (trait anxiety M=48.56, 52% – high level; state anxiety M=42.18). Statistically significant correlations were established between self-deception and trait anxiety (r=0.62; p<0.01), repression (r=0.48; p<0.05) and projection (r=0.55; p<0.01). Conclusions. Selfdeception, defensive behavioral styles and anxiety constitute a unified dynamic system; self-deception is adaptive in moderate expressions, but under chronic anxiety it reinforces primitive defense mechanisms and blocks mature adaptive strategies.
References
Kosianova, O., Prokopenko, I. (2025). Samoobman yak zakhysnyi mekhanizm: vplyv na psykhichne zdorov’ia ta mizhosobystisni stosunky [Self-deception as a defense mechanism: impact on mental health and interpersonal relationships]. Visnyk Lvivskoho universytetu. Seriia psykholohichni nauky [Bulletin of Lviv University. Series: Psychological Sciences]. Issue 24. P. 62–70. https://doi.org/10.30970/PS.2025.24.8
Armas-Vargas, E., Marrero, R. J., Hernández-Cabrera, J. A. (2023). Self-deception: typology of motives and relationship with personality. Frontiers in Psychology. Vol. 14. P. 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1084843
Freud, A. (1936). The ego and the mechanisms of defense. London : Hogarth Press, 196 p.
Freud, S. (1926). Inhibitions, symptoms and anxiety. London : Hogarth Press, 179 p.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: why it can matter more than IQ. New York : Bantam Books, 352 p.
Hart, C. L., Jones, J. M., Terrizzi, Jr. J. A., Curtis, D. A. (2019). Development of the Lying in Everyday Situations Scale. The American Journal of Psychology. Vol. 132. No. 3. P. 343–352. https://doi.org/10.5406/amerjpsyc.132.3.0343
Lazarus, R. S., Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York : Springer, 445 p.
Makowski, D., Pham, T., Lau, Z. J., Raine, A., Chen, S. H. A. (2023). The structure of deception: validation of the lying profile questionnaire. Current Psychology. Vol. 42. No. 5. P. 4001–4016. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01760-1
Paulhus, D. L. (1984). Two-component models of socially desirable responding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 46. No. 3. P. 598–609. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.46.3.598
Plutchik, R. (1980). Emotion: a psychoevolutionary synthesis. New York : Harper & Row, 440 p.
Plutchik, R., Conte, H. R. (1997). Circumplex models of personality and emotions. Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, 420 p.
Sackeim, H. A., Gur, R. C. (1978). Self-deception, self-confrontation, and consciousness. Consciousness and self-regulation / Ed. by G. E. Schwartz, D. Shapiro. New York : Plenum, Vol. 2. P. 139–197.
Sackeim, H. A., Gur, R. C. (1979). Self-deception: a concept in search of a phenomenon. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 37. No. 2. P. 147–169. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.37.2.147
Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L., Lushene, R. E. (1983). Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto, CA : Consulting Psychologists Press, 36 p.
Vaillant, G. E. (1993). Ego mechanisms of defense: a guide for clinicians and researchers. Washington, DC : American Psychiatric Press, 306 p.
