A student in your class gets picked on by other students. He says it’s okay because that means the other students like him. This is an example of [Select all that apply]

Question

A coping strategy.

A defense mechanism.

A learned emotion.

A primary emotion.

Answer 1

This situation is primarily an example of a defense mechanism. The student is rationalizing the behavior of others (bullying or picking on him) by convincing himself that it means they like him, which helps him cope with the negative experience.

It could also be considered a coping strategy, as the student is trying to manage his feelings about being picked on in a way that feels less hurtful.

However, it is not a learned emotion or a primary emotion; those terms refer more to emotions themselves rather than how someone might reinterpret social behavior.

So, the applicable selections are:

• A coping strategy.
• A defense mechanism.