Which mechanism is characterized by keeping unpleasant thoughts from entering consciousness?

The correct answer is repression. Repression is a defense mechanism identified in psychoanalytic theory, where an individual unconsciously pushes unpleasant or distressing thoughts, memories, or feelings out of conscious awareness. This can occur to protect the person from experiencing anxiety or emotional pain associated with these thoughts.

Repression helps maintain psychological stability by preventing these uncomfortable thoughts from surfacing, thereby reducing the individual’s immediate distress. This is often seen in cases of trauma, where individuals may not consciously remember the traumatic events but still experience the effects of them in different ways.

In contrast, other mechanisms such as resistance refer to the conscious or unconscious opposition to the therapeutic process itself, making it distinct from the unconscious nature of repression. Displacement involves redirecting emotions from a threatening target to a safer one, which does not involve keeping unwanted thoughts from consciousness. Projection involves attributing one’s own unacceptable feelings or thoughts onto another person rather than suppressing them, which again distinguishes it from the process of repression.