Which defense mechanism involves attributing one's own unacceptable qualities to others?

Which defense mechanism involves attributing one's own unacceptable qualities to others?

• A. Repression
• B. Projection
• C. Regression
• D. Sublimation

Answer: (B)

Projection is a defense mechanism in which a person attributes their own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or impulses to someone else. This helps reduce anxiety by externalizing troublesome parts of the self, even though it doesn’t resolve the underlying issue. For example, someone who harbors anger may insist that others are the angry ones, acting as if the hostility belongs to them rather than to the person experiencing it. Repression would hide these thoughts from awareness rather than misattributing them. Regression would involve slipping back to earlier, less mature behaviors under stress. Sublimation would channel unacceptable impulses into productive, socially acceptable activities. So attributing one's own unacceptable qualities to others is a classic example of projection.

Projection is a defense mechanism in which a person attributes their own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or impulses to someone else. This helps reduce anxiety by externalizing troublesome parts of the self, even though it doesn’t resolve the underlying issue. For example, someone who harbors anger may insist that others are the angry ones, acting as if the hostility belongs to them rather than to the person experiencing it.

Repression would hide these thoughts from awareness rather than misattributing them. Regression would involve slipping back to earlier, less mature behaviors under stress. Sublimation would channel unacceptable impulses into productive, socially acceptable activities. So attributing one's own unacceptable qualities to others is a classic example of projection.