Sublimation in Psychology

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow It WorksIn PsychoanalysisExamplesResearchEffectivenessReal-Life Impacts

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Table of Contents

How It Works

In Psychoanalysis

Examples

Research

Effectiveness

Real-Life Impacts

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TheAmerican Psychological Association (APA)defines sublimation as “a defense mechanism in which unacceptable sexual or aggressive drives are unconsciously channeled into socially acceptable modes of expression and redirected into new, learned behaviors, which indirectly provide some satisfaction for the original drives.”

We all experience unwanted impulses or urges from time to time. We want to yell and scream at someone who cuts in front of us at the store, for instance. Or we see an attractive person and feel an urge to flirt with them even though we are in a committed relationship.

How we deal with those feelings can influence whether we engage in acceptable orsocially unacceptable behaviors. Acting on these urges in the wrong way can be inappropriate, so finding more suitable ways to deal with such desires is critical.

One way that people deal with these urges in an acceptable way is through a process known in psychology as sublimation. Through sublimation, people are able to transform unwanted impulses into something that is less harmful and often even helpful.

How Does Sublimation Work?

Sublimation can transform negative impulses into behaviors that are not only less damaging but sometimes productive in nature. For example, consider what might happen if you are overcome withanger.

An emotional blow-up is one way of dealing with this feeling, but this type ofemotional responsecan be harmful. You might find yourself with damaged relationships, for example, or earn the reputation of being a hothead.

Rather than fly off in a fit of rage, what if you channeled your angry emotions into some type of physical activity, such as cleaning your house? After spending a few hours angrily scrubbing down your kitchen and bathrooms, your feelings eventually subside and you are left with a positive result—a sparkling clean home.

Sublimation in Psychoanalysis

Sublimation is a defense mechanism, which is an unconscious psychological defense that reduces the anxiety that may result from unacceptable urges or harmful stimuli.The concept of sublimation has a central role inSigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory.

According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, there are three components of personality: the id, the ego, and the superego.

The ego must mediate between the primal urges of the id, the moralistic standards of the superego, and the demands of reality.

Freud and Sublimation

Freud’s idea of sublimation originated while he was reading the story of a man who tortured animals as a child and later went on to become a surgeon. Freud believed that the same energy that once drove the child’s sadism was eventually sublimated into positive and socially acceptable actions that benefited others.

Freud considered sublimation a sign ofmaturitythat allows people to behave in civilized and acceptable ways. This process can lead people to pursue activities that are better for their health, for instance, or to engage in behaviors that are positive, productive, and creative.

Examples of Sublimation

Participation in sports and athletic competitions can sometimes be examples of sublimation in action. Rather than acting on an unacceptable urge to be physically aggressive with others, people may play competitive sports to satisfy their impulse to dominate and win.

Through sublimation, you are able to turn your unwanted or unacceptable impulses into an action that dissipates your anger and benefits your physical health.

Other real-world examples of sublimation include:

Research on Sublimation

Much of the research on sublimination is analytical, discussing how sublimination may exist in certain situations. For instance, in one article, the authors talk about how people just sentenced to life in prison for murder likely use sublimation to ‘defend against’ their new reality.Another article contends that religious experiences serve as sublimation in their role as selfobjects.

A selfobject (or self-object) is a person, activity, or object that is experienced as part of one’s self.

A 2013 study involved actual subjects. In it, researchers looked at whether Protestants were more likely to sublimate taboo feelings into creative endeavors. They found that individuals who experienced sexual problems related to anxieties over taboo desires were more likely to have greater creative accomplishments than those reporting no sexual problems or those with sexual problems unrelated to taboo feelings.

The researchers suggested that this study represented “possibly the firstexperimental evidencefor sublimation.“They further proposed that their findings indicate a cultural psychological approach to our defense mechanisms.

Effectiveness of Sublimation

How effective is sublimation for channeling our inappropriate urges into more acceptable, and possibly even productive actions? To answer this question, some have compared it with other defense mechanisms to see how it stacks up.

A 2020 study looked at students under high stress during COVID-19 due to preparing for school entrance exams, looking for work, etc.In this case, sublimation was compared toregression. It was noted that while regression was effective for one in five students, sublimation enabled roughly one-half of the subjects to channel their stress constructively, leading to positive results.

It should be noted that this study also stated that, when used as a coping mechanism, sublimation did not meet the standard required to be considered aneffective coping strategysince it does not fundamentally resolve the stressor.

Others stress that sublimation is a critical part ofart therapy. In a chapter inArt Therapies in Psychiatric Rehabilitation, the author states that sublimation serves two purposes in this context.One is that it helps the patient transform themself through the therapeutic process. The second is that art is created which symbolizes the sublimation that exists.

How Sublimation Can Influence Your Life

So, what role might the process of sublimation have in your life? As Freud suggested, sublimation is usually considered a healthy and mature way of dealing with urges that may be undesirable or unacceptable.

Rather than act out in ways that could cause us or others harm, sublimation allows us to channel that energy into things that are beneficial. Thus, thisdefense mechanismcan actually end up having a positive effect on your health and wellness.

While we sometimes might be able to see how ournegative feelingscan drive us to act in certain ways, we are often very much unaware of such things since sublimation operates at a subconscious level. There also may not be a directcorrelationbetween the cause of the negative emotion and the behavior that results from sublimation.

A Word From Verywell

7 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.American Psychological Association.Sublimation.Hockenbury DH, Hockenbury SE.Psychology.Wright S, Crewe B, Hulley S.Suppression, denial, sublimation: Defending against the initial pains of very long life sentences.Theor Criminol. 2016;21(2):225-246. doi:10.1177/1362480616643581Jang JE.Conclusion: Sublimation, oceanic feeling, and the selfobject. In:Religious Experience and Self-Psychology. 2016:149-167. doi:10.1057/978-1-349-95041-6_6Kim E, Zeppenfeld V, Cohen D.Sublimation, culture, and creativity.J Personal Soc Psychol. 2013;105(4):639-66. doi:10.1037/a0033487Wu X.The usage of sublimation and regression in stress coping of high-stress students during Covid-19: a pilot study with Weibo expressions.Front Educ Res. 2020;3(15):193-202. doi:10.25236/FER.2020.031534Stone E. Commentary on the conceptual roots in art therapy: Rethinking sublimation. In:Art Therapies in Psychiatric Rehabilitation. 2021:25-27. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-76208-7_3Additional ReadingGeller J.“Of snips… and puppy dog tails:” Freud’s sublimation of “Judentum”.American Imago. 2009;66(2):169-184.Kim E, Zeppenfeld V, Cohen D.Sublimation, culture, and creativity.J Personal Soc Psychol. 2013;105(4):639-666. doi: 10.1037/a0033487

7 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.American Psychological Association.Sublimation.Hockenbury DH, Hockenbury SE.Psychology.Wright S, Crewe B, Hulley S.Suppression, denial, sublimation: Defending against the initial pains of very long life sentences.Theor Criminol. 2016;21(2):225-246. doi:10.1177/1362480616643581Jang JE.Conclusion: Sublimation, oceanic feeling, and the selfobject. In:Religious Experience and Self-Psychology. 2016:149-167. doi:10.1057/978-1-349-95041-6_6Kim E, Zeppenfeld V, Cohen D.Sublimation, culture, and creativity.J Personal Soc Psychol. 2013;105(4):639-66. doi:10.1037/a0033487Wu X.The usage of sublimation and regression in stress coping of high-stress students during Covid-19: a pilot study with Weibo expressions.Front Educ Res. 2020;3(15):193-202. doi:10.25236/FER.2020.031534Stone E. Commentary on the conceptual roots in art therapy: Rethinking sublimation. In:Art Therapies in Psychiatric Rehabilitation. 2021:25-27. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-76208-7_3Additional ReadingGeller J.“Of snips… and puppy dog tails:” Freud’s sublimation of “Judentum”.American Imago. 2009;66(2):169-184.Kim E, Zeppenfeld V, Cohen D.Sublimation, culture, and creativity.J Personal Soc Psychol. 2013;105(4):639-666. doi: 10.1037/a0033487

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.

American Psychological Association.Sublimation.Hockenbury DH, Hockenbury SE.Psychology.Wright S, Crewe B, Hulley S.Suppression, denial, sublimation: Defending against the initial pains of very long life sentences.Theor Criminol. 2016;21(2):225-246. doi:10.1177/1362480616643581Jang JE.Conclusion: Sublimation, oceanic feeling, and the selfobject. In:Religious Experience and Self-Psychology. 2016:149-167. doi:10.1057/978-1-349-95041-6_6Kim E, Zeppenfeld V, Cohen D.Sublimation, culture, and creativity.J Personal Soc Psychol. 2013;105(4):639-66. doi:10.1037/a0033487Wu X.The usage of sublimation and regression in stress coping of high-stress students during Covid-19: a pilot study with Weibo expressions.Front Educ Res. 2020;3(15):193-202. doi:10.25236/FER.2020.031534Stone E. Commentary on the conceptual roots in art therapy: Rethinking sublimation. In:Art Therapies in Psychiatric Rehabilitation. 2021:25-27. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-76208-7_3

American Psychological Association.Sublimation.

Hockenbury DH, Hockenbury SE.Psychology.

Wright S, Crewe B, Hulley S.Suppression, denial, sublimation: Defending against the initial pains of very long life sentences.Theor Criminol. 2016;21(2):225-246. doi:10.1177/1362480616643581

Jang JE.Conclusion: Sublimation, oceanic feeling, and the selfobject. In:Religious Experience and Self-Psychology. 2016:149-167. doi:10.1057/978-1-349-95041-6_6

Kim E, Zeppenfeld V, Cohen D.Sublimation, culture, and creativity.J Personal Soc Psychol. 2013;105(4):639-66. doi:10.1037/a0033487

Wu X.The usage of sublimation and regression in stress coping of high-stress students during Covid-19: a pilot study with Weibo expressions.Front Educ Res. 2020;3(15):193-202. doi:10.25236/FER.2020.031534

Stone E. Commentary on the conceptual roots in art therapy: Rethinking sublimation. In:Art Therapies in Psychiatric Rehabilitation. 2021:25-27. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-76208-7_3

Geller J.“Of snips… and puppy dog tails:” Freud’s sublimation of “Judentum”.American Imago. 2009;66(2):169-184.Kim E, Zeppenfeld V, Cohen D.Sublimation, culture, and creativity.J Personal Soc Psychol. 2013;105(4):639-666. doi: 10.1037/a0033487

Geller J.“Of snips… and puppy dog tails:” Freud’s sublimation of “Judentum”.American Imago. 2009;66(2):169-184.

Kim E, Zeppenfeld V, Cohen D.Sublimation, culture, and creativity.J Personal Soc Psychol. 2013;105(4):639-666. doi: 10.1037/a0033487

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