Concepts
Health psychology/Defence mechanisms · Immature
Acting out
What it means
Expressing unconscious wishes or conflicts through action to avoid consciously feeling them.
Worked example
Self-harm, tantrums or impulsive behaviour instead of articulating distress.
In the exam
A teenager who cannot voice her distress about her parents’ divorce instead shoplifts and self-harms impulsively.
What settles it
Acting out is direct, often destructive action. Passive aggression expresses the hostility INDIRECTLY through non-compliance.
Classically confused with
Passive aggression
Source: AMBOSS