People are conditioned daily by the society and culture in which we live. We feel that almost constantly our ideas, tastes, needs are being repressed from us... However, thanks to the knowledge of the rules, we accept that there are a series of actions that must be repressed in one way or another.
For this, escape was defined as what is known as sublimation, an innate defense mechanism in each of us, which allows us to act in accordance with what society imposes on us. From Psychology-Online, we want to explain you in more detail what is sublimation in psychology with examples.
Index
- What does the concept of sublimation mean in psychology
- What is sublimation in psychology
- Sublimation as a defense mechanism
- Everyday examples sublimation
What does the concept of sublimation mean in psychology.
The sublimation is considered by psychology as a mature defense mechanism which allows individuals to channel all those drives (stimuli or impulses, usually of sexual or aggressive content) and direct them towards
This term was coined by the famous Sigmund Freud, since a large part of their theories are explained from the sexuality of individuals. According to the author, a person's sexuality is considered the driving force and fundamental pillar of their activity. Without it we would not be able to develop, communicate or evolve as a culture.
However, in different cultures there are certain sexual behaviors which are not accepted or viewed well, so the people who want to perform them have to repress those urges and give them up. This reluctance is what gives people the ability to live and relate in a civilized way.
What is sublimation in psychology.
According to the Larousee dictionary of psychology, the term sublimation refers to a defense mechanism against the drives of the instincts that basically consists of the substitution of the original purpose pursued by a sexual desire for a non-sexual and socially acceptable (and even well-regarded) associated end, according to the main doctrines psychoanalytic.
As Freud pointed out, some of these sublimation activities are artistic activity and intellectual research. For Freud, sublimation is nothing more than a protective mechanism of the psyche whose main function is relieve tension internal living the individual.
Sublimation as a defense mechanism.
As we have indicated previously, people have to repress certain behaviors in order to live in accordance with what is imposed by the culture in which they reside, however, if It is true that in some behaviors this repression is acceptable, there are times when the ties imposed by society can exceed the limits necessary for a good developing. That is why it is considered that people who are constantly repressed become ill.
In order not to get to this point, people resort to sublimation as an escape mechanism from this constant bondage of their sexual freedom. This process is considered unconscious, which is carried out spontaneously and without the intervention of the will. For its appearance, it is necessary that favorable conditions are fostered where the individual has intellectual and creative options available.
Everyday examples sublimation.
The two most commonly observed forms of sublimation are art and education. Regarding the first one, Freud recognizes that it is capable of giving individuals the dose of pleasure and joy necessary to repress their drives. However, within this defense mechanism we find a disadvantage, which is that experience art is restricted to a certain group of privileged people, so not everyone can make use of she. However, those who can resort to it, use it as self-release method, where they express all their most internal and retained desires.
But for those people who cannot make use of this defense mechanism, Freud affirms that education is the most adequate way to solve all the problems of neurosis provoked by the repressions of the drives imposed by society on the individual.
Millot (1990) describes education as that organization that must help the individual to reorganize their drives so that these are not repressed but can be directed towards socially accepted outlets.
However, on a daily basis we find people who adapt their lives to be able to satisfy the drives they feel in an adequate way and that favors their interaction with the rest of society. For instance:
- People with a high degree of aggressiveness practice as a sport the boxing, karate or kick boxing, where hitting the other person is the main objective.
- Apart from the case previously described for aggressive people, the sport It is a sublimation mechanism widely used by people to release the stress generated by having to repress drives, since helps produce endorphins, which improves our mood.
- People with obsessive compulsive disorders can find relief and satisfaction working on tasks that require meticulousness and precision.
- A defense resource used in a very recurrent way to satisfy many different drives is the technology, since from the different devices we can see those things that would be unacceptable in the real world, such as killing.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is sublimation in psychology, we recommend that you enter our category of Cognitive psychology.
Bibliography
- Larrouse Dictionary. (2003). Sant Salvador. SPES Editorial SL. Barcelona.
- Millot, Catherine (1990). Freud anti-pedagogue, Paidós, Mexico.
- Palacios, L. (2007). Sublimation, art and education in the work of Freud. Intercontinental Journal of Psychology and Education, 9(2), 13-24.
