Coping and defense: No clear distinction.

Comments on an article by P. Cramer (see record 2000-15774-007) which discussed renewed interest in the concept of defense mechanisms and presented criteria for distinguishing between coping processes and defense mechanisms. The author argues that it is unlikely that Cramer's criteria could be successfully used to define distinctive sets of psychological processes. It is maintained that the most basic problem with the proposed distinction is that intentionally and awareness are independent features of cognitive processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)