A client gets into a fight with his wife and buys her flowers and a ring several days later. These gifts are an example of:

• A. Symbolization
• B. Reaction formation
• C. Projective identification
• D. Undoing

Answer: (D)

Undoing is a defense mechanism where a person tries to cancel out or reverse an unacceptable act or guilt by performing a reparative, positive act. In this case, after a fight, buying flowers and a ring is an attempt to make amends and neutralize the hurt, essentially trying to “undo” the harm of the argument and restore the relationship. The other options don’t fit as neatly: symbolization would involve expressing feelings through symbols rather than direct reparative action; reaction formation would be displaying the opposite emotion to conceal an undesirable impulse; and projective identification involves projecting one’s own feelings onto another and eliciting those feelings in them. So the gifts illustrate undoing.