According to Zastrow and Hessenauer (2019), our perceptions determine how we interpret the messages we receive during communication. There are
several factors that can affect our perception, including defense mechanisms, which are socio-psychological factors that can influence what we perceive
and, in many cases, derail effective communication.
Before you write your initial discussion post, you should first review Chapter 5, Sections 2 and 3 in the textbook and review the defense mechanisms video.
For this forum, consider the following examples of defensiveness. Pick two of these examples and identify the defense mechanism at work, explain your
reasoning, then use Gibb’s analysis of defensive communication to explain how the defensiveness might be overcome.
A spouse refuses to speak to their partner because the partner was late for dinner and did not call.
A student tells their professor that it is the professor’s “fault” that they are on academic probation, which will “ruin their life.”
A parent tells her teen not to binge drink and the teen yells, “Who are you to judge me? You did the same thing when you were my age!”
An employer tells a recent college graduate that they know more because they went to the “school of hard knocks,” and “you think you’re better than the rest
of us—well, I’ve got news for you—you’re not! I’ve forgotten more than you will ever know about this business!”…
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