A student who is anxious about failing blames the teacher for being unfair. Which defense mechanism is being used?

A student who is anxious about failing blames the teacher for being unfair. Which defense mechanism is being used?

• A. Introjection
• B. Identification
• C. Projection
• D. Displacement

Answer: (C)

Focusing on how people cope with uncomfortable feelings, this situation shows projection: blaming someone else for an internal fear or insecurity. The student is anxious about failing, and instead of owning that fear, they attribute it to the teacher being unfair. By placing the source of the distress outside themselves, the student reduces personal anxiety and preserves self-image. Introjection would involve taking someone else’s beliefs into oneself, not relevant here. Identification would be adopting another person’s characteristics. Displacement would move emotions from the original target to a safer one; while blaming the teacher could feel safer, projection specifically means attributing your own unacceptable feelings to someone else, which fits this scenario.

Focusing on how people cope with uncomfortable feelings, this situation shows projection: blaming someone else for an internal fear or insecurity. The student is anxious about failing, and instead of owning that fear, they attribute it to the teacher being unfair. By placing the source of the distress outside themselves, the student reduces personal anxiety and preserves self-image.

Introjection would involve taking someone else’s beliefs into oneself, not relevant here. Identification would be adopting another person’s characteristics. Displacement would move emotions from the original target to a safer one; while blaming the teacher could feel safer, projection specifically means attributing your own unacceptable feelings to someone else, which fits this scenario.