Projection involves attributing to others the qualities that are unacceptable in oneself.

• A. Attributing to others the qualities that are unacceptable in his/her own personality
• B. Blaming the client
• C. Reinterpreting dreams
• D. Denial

Answer: (A)

Projection is a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously shifts unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or impulses onto someone else. The statement fits this idea because it describes attributing to others the qualities one cannot accept in oneself. This externalizes the problematic trait and reduces internal anxiety by avoiding self-ownership of the feeling or trait.

Think of it in everyday terms: a person who feels intense anger but can’t admit that about themselves might insist that others are angry or hostile instead. Because projection operates at an unconscious level, the person may not realize they are doing it.

This differs from denial, which is refusing to acknowledge a painful reality, and from dream interpretation or blaming the client, which involve other processes or therapeutic dynamics rather than the act of transferring one's own unwanted traits onto others.