Fixation as an ego defense mechanism involves...

• A. Attaching Oneself in an Unreasonable or Exaggerated Way to Some Person, or Arresting Emotional Development on a Childhood or Adolescent Level
• B. Grieving a Loss
• C. Displacing Feelings onto Others
• D. Denying Reality

Answer: (A)

Fixation involves energy that remains stuck at an earlier developmental stage, causing an excessive attachment to a person or to childish ways of functioning. This is why attaching oneself in an unreasonable or exaggerated way to someone, or arresting emotional development at a childhood or adolescent level, best fits fixation. Grieving a loss is a normal process, not a defense mechanism; displacing feelings means redirecting emotions to a safer target; denying reality is refusing to accept facts. For example, an adult who becomes obsessively dependent on a caregiver or who regresses to childlike behavior under stress demonstrates fixation.