The act of attributing one's own feelings to others is known as what?

The term that describes the act of attributing one's own feelings, thoughts, or motivations to others is known as projection. This psychological mechanism allows individuals to cope with their own unacceptable feelings by projecting them onto someone else. For instance, if someone feels insecure about their own abilities, they might accuse others of feeling inadequate or doubting their skills. This process is often an unconscious defense strategy that helps the individual to avoid facing uncomfortable emotions within themselves.

In contrast, displacement refers to redirecting emotions or impulses from a threatening target to a more benign one. Regression involves reverting to an earlier developmental stage when faced with stress. Denial is the refusal to accept reality or fact, blocking external events from awareness. Each of these concepts addresses different ways individuals cope with emotions and stress but does not capture the specific mechanism of attributing one’s feelings to others, which is precisely what projection entails.