compensation

As used in PSYCHOANALYSIS, this is a DEFENCE MECHANISM in which a person perceives himself to be lacking in some way and tries to make up for it by substituting some other characteristic which is perhaps exaggerated. This was a key concept in the work of Alfred Adler, who suggested that in this way a small man might compensate for his lack of size by being aggressive and dominating psychologically.

See INFERIORITY COMPLEX.