Projection is the
psychological phenomenon where someone denies some aspect of their behavior or at udes and assumes instead that
others are doing or thinking so. It is usually seen as the externalisation of a person's negative traits, placing blame on an outside force such as the
environment, a
government, a
society or other
people.
Projection can also extend to
philosophy and
knowledge. This occurs when a person or small group of people assume that everyone else is working with the same ideas and/or information that they are. When this fails to happen, however, it can lead to
pluralistic ignorance.