Figure 2-5.  Several common defense mechanisms may apply to aviation learners.  Other defense mechanisms include but are not limited to the following:  Compensation is a process of psychologically counterbalancing perceived weaknesses by emphasizing strength in other areas.  Through compensation, learners often attempt to disguise the presence of a weak or undesirable quality by emphasizing a more  positive one. The “I’m not a fighter, I’m a lover” philosophy can be an example of compensation. Compensation involves substituting  success in a realm of life other than the realm in which the person suffers a weakness.  Through projection, an individual places his or her own unacceptable impulses onto someone else. A person relegates the blame for  personal shortcomings, mistakes, and transgressions to others or attributes personal motives, desires, characteristics, and impulses to  others. The learner pilot who fails a flight exam and says, “I failed because I had a poor examiner” believes the failure was not due to  a lack of personal skill or knowledge. This learner projects blame onto an “unfair” examiner.$_{ }$ Learners who believe their instruction is inadequate, or that their efforts are not conscientiously considered and evaluated, do not  learn well. In addition, their motivation suffers no matter how intent they are on learning to fly. Motivation also declines when a  learner believes the instructor is making unreasonable demands for performance and progress.  [Figure 2-6]  Assignment of difficult, but possible, goals usually provides a challenge and promotes learning. In a typical flight lesson, reasonable  goals are listed in the lesson objectives and the desired levels of proficiency for the goals are included in statements that contain  completion standards.  Rationalization is a subconscious technique for justifying actions that otherwise would be unacceptable. When true rationalization  takes place, individuals sincerely believe in the plausible and acceptable excuses which seem real and justifiable. For example, a  learner mechanic performs poorly on a test. He or she may justify the poor grade by claiming there was not enough time to learn the  required information. The learner does not admit to failing to join the class study group or taking the computer quiz offered by the  instructor.  2-10  Rationalization  Compensation  Projection 