A man has cheated on his wife and he feels very guilty, but soon he begins to make excuses, saying how his wife has nagged him for years. The defense mechanism that BEST explains his behavior is:

Question

A) rationalization
B) denial
C) regression
D) projection

I believe the answer may be rationalization because he is making excuses and creating a socially acceptable reason for his cheating. I can also see where this might be projection because he his attributing his actions to his wife. I am more inclined to pick rationalization though.

Answer 1

Agree, "making excuses" is rationalization.

Answer 2

he is rationalizing what he did out of guilt

so yes the answer is, A.)