Definition
Two related defense mechanisms in which a person pushes uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, or memories out of conscious awareness. Repression is unconscious — the mind blocks the material automatically, without the person realizing it. Suppression is conscious — the person deliberately decides not to think about something. Both can affect a student pilot's learning, performance, and willingness to confront difficulties in training.
Plain English
Pushing unwanted thoughts or feelings out of mind. Repression happens without you knowing it. Suppression is when you choose to put something out of mind on purpose.
Context Anchor
Seen in flight instruction when a student avoids discussing a mistake, fear, poor performance, or confusing event after a lesson.
Derivation
Both come from Latin: 'repress' from 'reprimere' (to press back) and 'suppress' from 'supprimere' (to press down). The shared idea is pressing something below the surface — out of view. Repression presses it down so deep the person no longer sees it; suppression presses it down deliberately, with awareness.
Why Pilots Care
Unresolved repression or suppression leaves gaps in knowledge that can later appear as poor judgment, incomplete preflight checks, or unsafe reactions in flight.
Grounding Statement
A student may seem calm after a difficult event while still avoiding the part of the event that needs to be understood and corrected.
Intuition Check
Repression or suppression does not just mean being quiet or private. In this context, it means keeping an uncomfortable thought, feeling, or mistake out of active attention.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor suspected repression when the student consistently changed the subject every time stalls were mentioned.
Example Sentence 2
Clearing the repression or suppression allowed the student to finally accept and apply the correct crosswind landing technique.