A student comes to class unprepared and says, “I woke up late because my instructor gave us so much work to do, and I had to stay up all night. My kids are sick and the car isn't working well.” This student is using a defense mechanism called

A. Denial: Denial is refusing to accept reality or facts, blocking external events from awareness. The student is not denying being unprepared. B. Anger: Anger is an emotional response, not a defense mechanism in this context. C. Rationalization: Rationalization is a defense mechanism where a person justifies or excuses behaviors or outcomes to avoid the true explanation, often to preserve self-esteem. D. Avoidance: Avoidance involves evading a person, task, or situation altogether. The student did come to class and is not avoiding it, but explaining behavior.