Which term denotes taking on behaviors learned from others?

• A. Interjection
• B. Free association
• C. Interpretation
• D. Ego-defense mechanism

Answer: (A)

Taking on behaviors learned from others happens when a person internalizes someone else's attitudes, rules, or coping styles and makes them part of their own behavior. This process, described as interjection in some psychodynamic frameworks, involves absorbing external cues and using them as if they’re one’s own. It explains why you might see someone adopt a mentor’s calm problem-solving approach or a parent’s moral stance as if it were their natural way of thinking.

This concept is distinct from free association, which is simply saying whatever comes to mind to reveal unconscious content, and from interpretation, which is about explaining the meaning of a symptom or behavior. It’s also more specific than the broad category of ego-defense mechanisms, which covers many strategies for protecting the ego; interjection specifically refers to adopting others’ behaviors and attitudes rather than managing anxiety in the moment.

So interjection fits best because it directly describes the act of internalizing learned behaviors from others into one’s own repertoire.