Which defense mechanism involves turning unacceptable impulses into socially valued actions, such as channeling aggression into sports?

• A. Projection
• B. Denial
• C. Repression
• D. Sublimation

Answer: (D)

Sublimation involves turning unacceptable impulses into socially valued actions. When aggressive or forbidden urges arise, sublimation channels that energy into constructive outlets like sports, creative work, or meaningful social causes. This makes it a mature, adaptive defense because it satisfies inner drives in a way that benefits both the individual and others, rather than acting on the impulse in a harmful way. By contrast, projection attributes those impulses to others, denial refuses to acknowledge them, and repression pushes them out of conscious awareness. So sublimation best fits the description of transforming an impulse into a constructive, valued activity.