A 60-year-old male attends a smoking cessation class.He tells the nurse,"Even though I smoke,I don't smoke around children,in my car,or in my house" Which defense mechanism is this male exhibiting?

A) Displacement
B) Rationalization
C) Denial
D) Repression

Ego defense mechanisms are unconscious mental mechanisms that make a stressful situation more tolerable by decreasing the inner tension associated with the stressors.They protect the person from anxiety and assist with adaptation.When used sparingly,and for mild to moderate anxiety,they can be helpful.When overused,they become habits that give us a false illusion that we are coping.In this item,the male is using rationalization: the use of a logical-sounding excuse to cover up or justify true actions or feelings.The male is attending a cessation class,recognizing the desire to quit smoking,but he is rationalizing his smoking habit by citing all he does well in providing some socially acceptable rationales.Displacement is a transferring of emotions,ideas,or wishes from one object or situation to a substitute,inappropriate object.Denial is transforming reality by refusing to acknowledge thoughts,feelings,or desires.Repression is an unconscious burying or forgetting of painful thoughts,feelings,memories,ideas: pushing them from a conscious to an unconscious level.This is a step deeper than denial.