Which classroom example best illustrates projection as a defense mechanism?
2026
Which classroom example best illustrates projection as a defense mechanism?
Answer: C. A student who feels tempted to cheat accuses classmates of cheating. — ConceptProjection is a defense mechanism in which a person attributes an unacceptable feeling, impulse, or motive of their own to someone else. The mind…
- A.
A student refuses to admit that they did not study enough for an examination.
- B.
A student makes jokes to mask anxiety during a classroom presentation.
- C.
A student who feels tempted to cheat accuses classmates of cheating.
- D.
A student who receives a poor grade says that the subject was not important anyway.
Attempted by 11 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept
Projection is a defense mechanism in which a person attributes an unacceptable feeling, impulse, or motive of their own to someone else.
The mind therefore experiences the impulse as belonging to another person instead of recognizing it as its own.
Application
A student who feels tempted to cheat but accuses classmates of cheating transfers the student’s own unacceptable impulse to other people. This follows the defining direction of projection: self to other.
Contrast
Refusing to admit inadequate preparation keeps an uncomfortable reality outside conscious acknowledgment; this describes denial.
Using jokes to manage presentation anxiety redirects tension into humor; it does not attribute the anxiety to someone else.
Saying the subject was unimportant after a poor grade creates a self-protective explanation for disappointment; it does not attribute an internal impulse to another person.
Cross-check
Ask whether the student has assigned their own feeling or impulse to another person. The cheating-temptation example contains that self-to-other attribution. Therefore, the best illustration is the student who feels tempted to cheat and accuses classmates of cheating.