Which of the following defense mechanisms is Marissa using when she says “So what if I broke her stupid toy? She’s always bothering me when I want to play video games and no one should have to put up with that all the time.”

(1 point)
Responses

compensation
compensation

denial
denial

reaction formation
reaction formation

projection
projection
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1 answer

Marissa is using rationalization as a defense mechanism. Although "rationalization" is not listed as an option in your question, her statement reflects an attempt to justify her behavior (breaking the toy) by blaming the other person's actions (bothering her while she wants to play video games).

None of the provided options (compensation, denial, reaction formation, projection) accurately represent what she is doing. However, if you need to choose from those options, the closest might be projection, as she is attributing her feelings and frustrations onto the other person, though it's not a perfect fit.