Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsDefense MechanismsCompensationExamplesPros and ConsHow to StopFrequently Asked Questions

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Defense Mechanisms

Compensation

Examples

Pros and Cons

How to Stop

Frequently Asked Questions

Close

At a GlanceCompensation is a psychological defense mechanism when a person tries to “make up for” a perceived area of weakness in their life.

At a Glance

Compensation is a psychological defense mechanism when a person tries to “make up for” a perceived area of weakness in their life.

Compensation is a type ofdefense mechanismin which peopleoverachievein one area of their lives to compensate for failures in another. For example, people with difficult family lives may direct their energy toward excelling at work.

As a psychological strategy, people use compensation to cover up their inadequacies, frustrations, stresses, or urges.While it can sometimes be beneficial, compensation can cause problems when overused or misapplied.

Let’s go over how people use compensation as a defense mechanism and look at the positive and negative effects of the strategy.

What Are Defense Mechanisms?

Defense mechanisms are unconscious responses that protect people from feelings of anxiety or threats to their sense of self. Sigmund Freud first described these defenses as part of his personality theory. His daughter, Anna Freud, later did more work on psychological defense mechanisms.

Psychologist Alfred Adler was the first to describe compensation.Adler suggested that compensation as a defense mechanism could help people cope with feelings ofinferiority, and could have positive or negative effects.

What to Know About Defense Mechanisms

What Is Compensation?

Compensation means excelling in one area to make up for real or perceived deficits in another. Compensation is often used synonymously with “overcompensation,” but overcompensation suggests that a person is going far beyond what is necessary to “make up” for a deficiency.

The term “compensation” is frequently used in everyday language. For example, people may say that someone is “just overcompensating” to imply that a person is overworking in one area of their life to hide insecurities about other aspects of it.

However, compensation can also be unconscious. Your feelings of inadequacy can be hidden and may drive you to try to compensate for them.

Compensation can take two forms:

Alfred Adler and the Inferiority Complex

Examples of Compensation

To understand how compensation affects a person’s behavior, let’s look at some examples.

Sports

A high school basketball player feels inferior because they can’t score as many points as their teammates. Instead of putting in the time to practice or asking the coach for guidance, the player just stays on the bench. When they do play, they always make sure to pass the ball to a teammate who is a better player.

Intelligence

A researcher feels inadequate because they have not published as many papers as their peers. They become exclusively focused on their area of research interest and dedicate all their resources to studying it. In a few years, they made a breakthrough discovery.

Work

An employee feels less valued than their colleagues because they are always overlooked for promotions and their ideas go unheard in meetings. To make up for perceived failings at work, they put most of their energy into their home life and try to be “the best parent ever” to their children.

A manager feels that they are not able to be assertive and set rules with their subordinates in the workplace. They really do not want to deal with conflict or the responsibility of having to mediate their employees’ problems. Rather than trying to work on developing their leadership skills, they hang back and rely on another manager within the department to do all the disciplining so they can avoid conflict.

Skills

A person finds it challenging to manage their money and fears they’ll make a big mistake. Rather than using tools or learning how to be more financially savvy, they rely on their partner to pay all the bills, set a monthly budget, and handle all the buying decisions for the household.

What Is Learned Helplessness?

Health

A person with diabetes struggles to manage their blood sugar. Instead of asking for help and working on becoming more independent and capable of managing the condition, they let their partner monitor their diet, check their blood sugar levels, and schedule medical appointments for them.

Relationships

A person feels inferior compared to their partner’s ex. Instead of focusing on building a life with them and enjoying the uniqueness of their relationship, they put all their energy into becoming the “world’s greatest parent” to their children.

20 Common Defense Mechanisms

Pros and Cons of Compensation

Compensation can have a powerful effect on your behavior and decisions. While compensation is often portrayed in a negative light, it can have positive effects. Here are the pros and cons of compensation to consider:

ProsFocuses on strengthsEncourages growthFosters stronger self-esteemBoosts self-imageReinforces the benefits of confronting challengesConsLeads to discouragementCauses stress in relationshipsReduces motivationPromotes unhelpful coping skillsInhibits growth

ProsFocuses on strengthsEncourages growthFosters stronger self-esteemBoosts self-imageReinforces the benefits of confronting challenges

Focuses on strengths

Encourages growth

Fosters stronger self-esteem

Boosts self-image

Reinforces the benefits of confronting challenges

ConsLeads to discouragementCauses stress in relationshipsReduces motivationPromotes unhelpful coping skillsInhibits growth

Leads to discouragement

Causes stress in relationships

Reduces motivation

Promotes unhelpful coping skills

Inhibits growth

Pros

Adler suggested that when people experience feelings of inferiority, they automatically feel a compensatory need to strive forsuperiority. As a result, people will push themselves to overcome their weaknesses and achieve their goals. This drive can lead to several positive effects, such as:

Imagine that you just began taking a dance-based exercise class. At first, you feel out of your element and even a little intimidated because everyone else seems so skilled and experienced.

Given your initial feelings of inferiority, you may start practicing yoga at home to improve your flexibility, which you hope will help with your dancing. The urge to overcome your feelings of inferiority drives you to develop new skills and stick to a workout routine that you end up really enjoying.

Compensation is considered a mature defense mechanism. Mature defense mechanisms tend to be the most helpful, but they need to be used effectively to be beneficial.

How Is Projection a Defense Mechanism?

Cons

Compensation can prevent people from trying new things or addressing their shortcomings. For example, imagine that a young college student experiences feelings of inferiority because they don’t have many friends. They see their peers engaging in animated conversations with each other everywhere on campus, which reinforces feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Compensation, particularly if it involves relying heavily on another person, can also strain relationships. For example, a relationship can start to feel imbalanced if one partner relies on the other to always pay the bills or handle conflicts between kids.

Using Rationalization as a Defense Mechanism

How to Stop Over- or Undercompensating

If you’ve realized that you are overcompensating or undercompensating, know that having that awareness and looking at your behavior honestly is the first step in making changes. Here are a few ways that you can work on trying to stop overcompensating or undercompensating.

Ask a Therapist: How Can I Improve My Self-Esteem?

Adler suggested that compensation was a healthy defense mechanism that people utilize to cope with feelings of inferiority. He also introduced the idea of overcompensation, which involves compensating in ways that are excessive or out of proportion to the person’s shortcomings.

There is no definitive way to tell if someone is compensating, but there may be signs that they feel insecure about something. Examples include trying to hide shortcomings, putting excessive focus on minor accomplishments, talking negatively about other people’s abilities, and always making negative assumptions about others are a few possible signs.

How to Stop Being Defensive

10 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Adler, A.Nervous and mental disease monograph series. Study of organ inferiority and its psychical compensation.Jelliffe SE, trans. New York: Nervous and Mental Disease Publishing Co.; 1917. doi:10.1037/10734-000Adler A.The science of living. New York, NY: Greenberg; 2011Carducci BJ.The psychology of personality: Viewpoints, research, and applications. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley; 2009.Backman L, Bäckman L, Dixon RA, eds.Compensating for psychological deficits and declines: Managing losses and promoting gains. Taylor & Francis; 2013.Psychology 2e.Neofreudians. In: OpenStax, LibreTexts. License CC BY 4.0.Kessler JJ, Wiener Y.Self-consistency and inequity dissonance as factors in undercompensation.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. Published online December 1, 1972. doi:10.1016/0030-5073(72)90063-3Yang J, Milliren A.The psychology of courage: An Adlerian handbook for healthy social living. 2009.Bailey R, Pico J.Defense mechanisms. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.Rosenthal SA, Hooley JM.Narcissism assessment in social personality research: Does the association between narcissism and psychological health result from a confound with self-esteem?Journal of Research in Personality.2010;44(4):453-465. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2010.05.008Saslow LR, Muise A, Impett EA, Dubin M.Can you see how happy we are? Facebook images and relationship satisfaction.Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2013;4(4):411-418. doi:10.1177/1948550612460059

10 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Adler, A.Nervous and mental disease monograph series. Study of organ inferiority and its psychical compensation.Jelliffe SE, trans. New York: Nervous and Mental Disease Publishing Co.; 1917. doi:10.1037/10734-000Adler A.The science of living. New York, NY: Greenberg; 2011Carducci BJ.The psychology of personality: Viewpoints, research, and applications. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley; 2009.Backman L, Bäckman L, Dixon RA, eds.Compensating for psychological deficits and declines: Managing losses and promoting gains. Taylor & Francis; 2013.Psychology 2e.Neofreudians. In: OpenStax, LibreTexts. License CC BY 4.0.Kessler JJ, Wiener Y.Self-consistency and inequity dissonance as factors in undercompensation.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. Published online December 1, 1972. doi:10.1016/0030-5073(72)90063-3Yang J, Milliren A.The psychology of courage: An Adlerian handbook for healthy social living. 2009.Bailey R, Pico J.Defense mechanisms. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.Rosenthal SA, Hooley JM.Narcissism assessment in social personality research: Does the association between narcissism and psychological health result from a confound with self-esteem?Journal of Research in Personality.2010;44(4):453-465. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2010.05.008Saslow LR, Muise A, Impett EA, Dubin M.Can you see how happy we are? Facebook images and relationship satisfaction.Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2013;4(4):411-418. doi:10.1177/1948550612460059

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Adler, A.Nervous and mental disease monograph series. Study of organ inferiority and its psychical compensation.Jelliffe SE, trans. New York: Nervous and Mental Disease Publishing Co.; 1917. doi:10.1037/10734-000Adler A.The science of living. New York, NY: Greenberg; 2011Carducci BJ.The psychology of personality: Viewpoints, research, and applications. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley; 2009.Backman L, Bäckman L, Dixon RA, eds.Compensating for psychological deficits and declines: Managing losses and promoting gains. Taylor & Francis; 2013.Psychology 2e.Neofreudians. In: OpenStax, LibreTexts. License CC BY 4.0.Kessler JJ, Wiener Y.Self-consistency and inequity dissonance as factors in undercompensation.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. Published online December 1, 1972. doi:10.1016/0030-5073(72)90063-3Yang J, Milliren A.The psychology of courage: An Adlerian handbook for healthy social living. 2009.Bailey R, Pico J.Defense mechanisms. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.Rosenthal SA, Hooley JM.Narcissism assessment in social personality research: Does the association between narcissism and psychological health result from a confound with self-esteem?Journal of Research in Personality.2010;44(4):453-465. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2010.05.008Saslow LR, Muise A, Impett EA, Dubin M.Can you see how happy we are? Facebook images and relationship satisfaction.Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2013;4(4):411-418. doi:10.1177/1948550612460059

Adler, A.Nervous and mental disease monograph series. Study of organ inferiority and its psychical compensation.Jelliffe SE, trans. New York: Nervous and Mental Disease Publishing Co.; 1917. doi:10.1037/10734-000

Adler A.The science of living. New York, NY: Greenberg; 2011

Carducci BJ.The psychology of personality: Viewpoints, research, and applications. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley; 2009.

Backman L, Bäckman L, Dixon RA, eds.Compensating for psychological deficits and declines: Managing losses and promoting gains. Taylor & Francis; 2013.

Psychology 2e.Neofreudians. In: OpenStax, LibreTexts. License CC BY 4.0.

Kessler JJ, Wiener Y.Self-consistency and inequity dissonance as factors in undercompensation.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. Published online December 1, 1972. doi:10.1016/0030-5073(72)90063-3

Yang J, Milliren A.The psychology of courage: An Adlerian handbook for healthy social living. 2009.

Bailey R, Pico J.Defense mechanisms. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.

Rosenthal SA, Hooley JM.Narcissism assessment in social personality research: Does the association between narcissism and psychological health result from a confound with self-esteem?Journal of Research in Personality.2010;44(4):453-465. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2010.05.008

Saslow LR, Muise A, Impett EA, Dubin M.Can you see how happy we are? Facebook images and relationship satisfaction.Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2013;4(4):411-418. doi:10.1177/1948550612460059

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