<p>You are trying to delineate George Vaillant's classification of pathological <strong>unconscious</strong> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_mechanism" rel="nofollow noreferrer">defense mechanisms</a> (delusional projection, denial and distortion), which differ from <strong>conscious</strong> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coping" rel="nofollow noreferrer">coping mechanisms</a> (meditating, seeking social support). One can't escape from using defense mechanisms because it's out of cognitive regulation's reach. However, coping mechanisms can alleviate the distortions of these aforementioned defense mechanisms. Freud's daughter (Anna Freud) studied these defense mechanisms thoroughly.</p>
<p>Defense mechanisms take us away from the reality of the situation, whereas coping mechanisms let us adhere to <a href="https://www.academia.edu/22089782/Further_Distinctions_between_Coping_and_Defense_Mechanisms" rel="nofollow noreferrer">objective reality</a>. This kind of parallels the idea of emotional coherence (cognitive dissonance or other reality-distorting fallacies) which is taken into account in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coherence_therapy#Symptom_coherence" rel="nofollow noreferrer">coherence therapies</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-04T15:28:21.640Z
Do you mean that the cultural veil against cognition causes these distortions? I would try social psychology with great studies by Solomon Asch and Musaref Sherif. Solomon Asch studied the conformity of a person. Conformity biases usually cause cultural distortions to social cognition. Daniel Kahneman has also done exciting studies on this with heuristics and distortions to cognition. You should also consider the philosophical side of the question because Kant has made interesting thoughts about morality. How should we see morality with subjective machinery?
ProtoZone
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-30T11:41:52.750Z
2023-09-30T11:41:52.750Z
ProtoZone
<p>Does anyone know if there is any research or a name for the psychological tendency to lie to oneself?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-29T15:08:58.257Z
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance seems related to what you ask.
Bryan Krause
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-29T21:21:39.587Z
Are you asking about [self-deception](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-deception) or maybe [rationalizing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalization_(psychology))?  "Personal experience" doesn't really pass muster here - please elaborate on what you mean by lying to oneself, and provide credible evidence that people actually do this.  I am not aware of any evidence to suggest that lawyers are different in honesty/dishonesty from other populations, and I seem to recall some study showing that moral philosophers are no more or less moral than their peers.
Arnon Weinberg
<deception>
Name for the psychological tendency to lying to onself
QuietInMontana
# Name for the psychological tendency to lying to onself

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-09-29)

Does anyone know if there is any research or a name for the psychological tendency to lie to oneself?

**Tags:** deception

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance seems related to what you ask.  
> **username_2**: Are you asking about [self-deception](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-deception) or maybe [rationalizing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalization_(psychology))?  "Personal experience" doesn't really pass muster here - please elaborate on what you mean by lying to oneself, and provide credible evidence that people actually do this.  I am not aware of any evidence to suggest that lawyers are different in honesty/dishonesty from other populations, and I seem to recall some study showing that moral philosophers are no more or less moral than their peers.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2023-09-30. Score: 0

You are trying to delineate George Vaillant's classification of pathological **unconscious** [defense mechanisms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_mechanism) (delusional projection, denial and distortion), which differ from **conscious** [coping mechanisms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coping) (meditating, seeking social support). One can't escape from using defense mechanisms because it's out of cognitive regulation's reach. However, coping mechanisms can alleviate the distortions of these aforementioned defense mechanisms. Freud's daughter (Anna Freud) studied these defense mechanisms thoroughly.

Defense mechanisms take us away from the reality of the situation, whereas coping mechanisms let us adhere to [objective reality](https://www.academia.edu/22089782/Further_Distinctions_between_Coping_and_Defense_Mechanisms). This kind of parallels the idea of emotional coherence (cognitive dissonance or other reality-distorting fallacies) which is taken into account in [coherence therapies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coherence_therapy#Symptom_coherence).

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Do you mean that the cultural veil against cognition causes these distortions? I would try social psychology with great studies by Solomon Asch and Musaref Sherif. Solomon Asch studied the conformity of a person. Conformity biases usually cause cultural distortions to social cognition. Daniel Kahneman has also done exciting studies on this with heuristics and distortions to cognition. You should also consider the philosophical side of the question because Kant has made interesting thoughts about morality. How should we see morality with subjective machinery?  

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