Psychology MCAT Practice Exam 2025 - Free Practice Questions and Study Guide for Aspiring Psychologists.

The concept that describes the redirection of feelings from the source of distress to another target is displacement. This defense mechanism involves taking emotions or impulses that are originally directed towards one person or object and shifting them towards another, less threatening target. For example, if someone is angry at their boss but feels unable to express that anger directly, they might go home and take out their frustration on a family member or a pet. This process allows individuals to avoid confronting the initially distressing source while still expressing their emotions, albeit in a misdirected manner.

In contrast, projection involves attributing one’s own unacceptable feelings or thoughts onto someone else, rationalization involves providing logical explanations for behaviors or feelings to justify them, and repression involves unconsciously blocking unpleasant thoughts or emotions from awareness. These concepts represent different mechanisms of coping with psychological distress, but they do not specifically involve the redirection of feelings in the way that displacement does.