Which defense mechanism involves attributing one's thoughts or impulses to another person?

Which defense mechanism involves attributing one's thoughts or impulses to another person?

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

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 internal conflict, making it seem as if the troubling thoughts belong to another person rather than to oneself. For example, someone who harbors a hidden aggressive urge might insist that others are the ones who are aggressive toward them, effectively transferring the impulse outward. Displacement would redirect emotions from the original target to a safer substitute, such as venting anger on a family member rather than the actual source. Sublimation channels impulses into socially acceptable activities, like turning aggressive energy into sports. Repression pushes distressing thoughts out of conscious awareness, keeping them out of conscious consideration. Because attributing one’s own thoughts or impulses to another fits this externalizing pattern, it is the mechanism described here.

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 internal conflict, making it seem as if the troubling thoughts belong to another person rather than to oneself. For example, someone who harbors a hidden aggressive urge might insist that others are the ones who are aggressive toward them, effectively transferring the impulse outward.

Displacement would redirect emotions from the original target to a safer substitute, such as venting anger on a family member rather than the actual source. Sublimation channels impulses into socially acceptable activities, like turning aggressive energy into sports. Repression pushes distressing thoughts out of conscious awareness, keeping them out of conscious consideration. Because attributing one’s own thoughts or impulses to another fits this externalizing pattern, it is the mechanism described here.