An employee uses the defense mechanism of displacement when the boss openly disagrees with suggestions. What behavior would be expected from this employee?
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A
The employee assertively confronts the boss
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B
The employee leaves the staff meeting to work out in the gym
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C
The employee criticizes a coworker
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D
The employee takes the boss out to lunch
In this situation, the nursing judgment that fits the stem is The employee criticizes a coworker.
A. The employee assertively confronts the boss
This would apply in a different scenario where the idea in “The employee assertively confronts the boss” addresses a different mechanism or priority than the one emphasized by the stem The wording does not track the stem’s main cue, so selecting it would shift the nurse away from the most precise interpretation or priority.
B. The employee leaves the staff meeting to work out in the gym
This reflects a related idea, but it fits best when the idea in “The employee leaves the staff meeting to work out in the gym” addresses a different mechanism or priority than the one emphasized by the stem The wording does not track the stem’s main cue, so selecting it would shift the nurse away from the most precise interpretation or priority.
C. The employee criticizes a coworker
This matches the stem because The client using the defense mechanism of displacement would criticize a coworker after being confronted by the boss. Displacement refers to transferring feelings from one target to a neutral or lessthreatening target. Need: Psychosocial Integrity Ego defenses can reduce anxiety in the short term, but they become clinically relevant when they distort reality enough to interfere with insight, relationships, or treatment adherence. From a nursing standpoint, this selection guides assessment and interventions toward what is most clinically meaningful in the moment—risk reduction, safety, accurate appraisal, and support for adaptive coping.
D. The employee takes the boss out to lunch
This might be chosen when the idea in “The employee takes the boss out to lunch” addresses a different mechanism or priority than the one emphasized by the stem The wording does not track the stem’s main cue, so selecting it would shift the nurse away from the most precise interpretation or priority.
Conclusion
The stem provides enough information to select the most accurate interpretation without adding extra assumptions. The chosen answer reflects the correct framework, and the remaining choices drift toward incomplete, premature, or misdirected reasoning.