Smith and Dr. Jones are at a lecture given by their mentor. Dr. Smith thinks the talk is horrible, but rather than deal with the fact that he is critical of his mentor's work, he instead accuses Dr. Jones of thinking the talk was terrible. Dr. Smith feels this way due to

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Dr. Smith is projecting his own negative feelings about the talk onto Dr. Jones and accusing him of thinking the same thing. This is a defense mechanism known as projection, which involves attributing our own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or motives onto someone else.