Projection as a defense mechanism involves what?

• A. Attributing one's own unacceptable impulses to someone else.
• B. Accepting responsibility for one's own feelings.
• C. Reframing a problem as someone else's fault.
• D. Denying that any issue exists.

Answer: (A)

Projection involves denying one’s own unacceptable thoughts or feelings and instead attributing them to someone else. When people can’t tolerate what they feel inside, they externalize it, effectively saying, “This impulse comes from you, not me.” That helps reduce anxiety by making the uncomfortable emotion seem outside rather than owned.

This is different from accepting responsibility for one’s feelings, which would mean recognizing and owning them. It’s also distinct from reframing a problem as someone else’s fault, which is more about shifting blame rather than disowning a specific internal impulse. Denying that any issue exists is another defense (denial) that shuts down awareness entirely, not about misplacing internal states onto others.