Understanding how these systems affect our decision-making can help instructors be more aware of learner pitfalls, such as assuming a complex problem is a simple one, or assuming that because a recent task led to a solution that the same solution can be used correctly for a similar task. 

Since it is human nature to be motivated, the responsibility for discovering how to realize the potential of the learner lies with the instructor. How to mold a solid, healthy, productive relationship with a learner depends on the instructor’s knowledge of human behavior and needs. Being able to recognize factors that inhibit the learning process also helps the instructor in this process. 

## Defense Mechanisms 

Defense mechanisms can be biological or psychological. The biological defense mechanism is a physiological response that protects or preserves organisms. For example, when humans experience a danger or a threat, the “fight or flight” response kicks in. Adrenaline and other chemicals are activated and physical symptoms such as rapid heart rate and increased blood pressure occur. 

For example, when an anxious learner pilot reacts to impending and full stalls during practice, the anxiety that the learner pilot may feel may resolve itself into a “fight or flight” response. There may be limited time to analyze the problem. Therefore, the learner needs the opportunity to experience and develop a comfort level that mitigates the anxiety. 

The instructor needs to recognize the learner’s apprehension about performing the recovery techniques and help them gain the necessary skill level to feel comfortable with the maneuver. In this case, the instructor could take the procedure apart and demonstrate each stage of an impending or full stall. Allowing the learner to then practice the stages in various realistic scenarios should instill the confidence needed to master the stall recovery. 

Sigmund Freud introduced the psychological concept of the ego defense mechanism in 1894. The ego defense mechanism is an unconscious mental process to protect oneself from anxiety, unpleasant emotions, or to provide a refuge from a situation with which the individual cannot currently cope. For example, someone who blots out the memory of being physically assaulted is using a defense mechanism. People use these defenses to prevent unacceptable ideas or impulses from entering the conscious mind. Defense mechanisms soften feelings of failure, alleviate feelings of guilt, help an individual cope with reality, and protect one’s self-image. [Figure 2-5] 

When anxiety occurs, the mind tries to solve the problem or find an escape, but if these tactics do not work, defense mechanisms are triggered. Defense mechanisms share two common properties: 

⦁ $_{They often appear unconsciously. }$ 

⦁ $_{They tend to distort, transform, or otherwise falsify reality. }$ 

Because reality is distorted, perception changes, which allows for a lessening of anxiety, with a corresponding reduction in tension. Repression and denial are two primary defense mechanisms. 

## Repression 

Repression is the defense mechanism whereby a person places uncomfortable thoughts into inaccessible areas of the unconscious mind. Things a person is unable to cope with now are pushed away, to be dealt with at another time, or hopefully never because they faded away on their own accord. The level of repression can vary from temporarily forgetting an uncomfortable thought to amnesia, where the events that triggered the anxiety are deeply buried. Repressed memories do not disappear and may reappear in dreams or slips of the tongue (“Freudian slips”). For example, a learner pilot may have a repressed fear of flying that inhibits his or her ability to learn how to fly. 

## Denial 

Denial is a refusal to accept external reality because it is too threatening. It is the refusal to acknowledge what has happened, is happening, or will happen. It is a form of repression through which stressful thoughts are banned from memory. Related to denial is minimization. When a person minimizes something, he or she accepts what happened, but in a diluted form. 

For example, the instructor finds a water bottle under the rudder pedal of an aircraft the student took on a solo flight and explains the hazards of loose objects in the cabin. The learner, unwilling to accept the reality that his or her inattention could have caused an aircraft accident, denies having been inattentive on previous day. Or, the learner minimizes the incident, accepting he or she left the water bottle pointing out that nothing bad happened as a result of the action. 

