Mental functions are often divided between the cognitive (information
processing) and the psychodynamic (emotional processes), sometimes
called the cool, “know” system versus the hot, “go” system
(Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999). These find parallel in the two types of violence
described in “The Biology of Violence”: the low-arousal and premeditated,
predatory type versus the high-arousal and impulsive,
affective type (Lee, 2015).While we would like to believe that humans
are rational beings,we knowthat our behavior does not reflect this at all
times. Classical psychoanalysis focuses on actions we cannot explain or
perceive to be bizarre, tracing their emotional logic to defense mechanisms.
Thus, one way in which the unconscious manifests itself is in
the strategies it employs to “defend” one's view of oneself against painful
feelings or conflicting impulses. These may entail manipulation or
distortion of reality, involve repression or burying of emotions that
later erupt, and are not very socially acceptable or adaptive. A few examples
of defensemechanisms that are particularly relevant to the psychology
of violencemight include projection, reaction formation, acting
out, and return of the repressed, and areworth analyzing in some depth.