In psychodynamic terms, anxiety is the result of repressing threatening thoughts or feelings.

In psychodynamic terms, anxiety is the result of repressing threatening thoughts or feelings.

• A. Anxiety
• B. Denial
• C. Abreaction
• D. Displacement

Answer: (A)

In psychodynamic theory, anxiety is the signal that arises when unacceptable or threatening thoughts are kept out of conscious awareness through repression. The energy from those repressed impulses builds up, and the ego experiences this tension as anxiety. Denial is a different defense where reality is ignored; reaction formation, projection, or displacement are other mechanisms with distinct effects. Abreaction refers to a cathartic release of emotional tension, not the production of anxiety itself; displacement means redirecting feelings to a safer target. So the statement captures how repression leads to the experience of anxiety, making this term the best fit for what’s being described.

In psychodynamic theory, anxiety is the signal that arises when unacceptable or threatening thoughts are kept out of conscious awareness through repression. The energy from those repressed impulses builds up, and the ego experiences this tension as anxiety. Denial is a different defense where reality is ignored; reaction formation, projection, or displacement are other mechanisms with distinct effects. Abreaction refers to a cathartic release of emotional tension, not the production of anxiety itself; displacement means redirecting feelings to a safer target. So the statement captures how repression leads to the experience of anxiety, making this term the best fit for what’s being described.