displacement activity
noun /dɪsˈpleɪsmənt æktɪvəti/
/dɪsˈpleɪsmənt æktɪvəti/
[uncountable, countable]- things that you do in order to avoid doing what you are supposed to be doing
- (biology, psychology) behaviour in animals or humans that does not seem to be useful in the situation in which it is performed, resulting from the presence of two opposing desires that cannot be resolved