Health psychology/Defence mechanisms · Neurotic

Intellectualisation

What it means

Avoiding the emotional impact of a situation by focusing on abstract reasoning, facts or technical detail.

Worked example

A newly diagnosed patient discusses the molecular biology of his tumour at length, avoiding any feeling.

In the exam

Told he has metastatic cancer, a man immediately asks detailed questions about tumour genetics and staging statistics, showing no emotion.

What settles it

Intellectualisation buries affect under facts and theory. Isolation of affect strips the emotion from a specific recounted event; rationalisation justifies with false reasons.

Classically confused with

Isolation of affect

Source: AMBOSS