The Weekly Defensive Update: Don’t think about pink elephants
Some thoughts and feelings are too horrible to contemplate. A parent who resents their newborn child. A bully who feels vulnerable. A butcher who feels sympathy for slaughtered animals. A baker who doubts their sourdough is actually any good.
According to Freud we defend against threatening thoughts, feelings, and impulses that exist within us by unconsciously projecting them away from ourselves and onto others. I know I’m a talented baker. Why must you doubt me! Projection as a defense mechanism has been used as a criterium in diagnosis of psychological disorders by a long line of psychologists and psychiatrists in the Freudian tradition.
Projection can defend against thoughts that we can’t bear to acknowledge or thoughts that might earn us social condemnation. Like many defense mechanisms, most people engage in some level of projection. When this interferes with normal work or home life, projection can be associated with Narcissistic Personality Disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder according to the DSM-V's personality inventory. Jung warns that projection by the unconscious self can both insulate and mislead our conscious selves.
More cognitively minded researchers (Newman, Duff, & Baumeister) have argued that projection is a consequence of repressing thoughts rather than a defense mechanism in and of itself. They reason that by working to suppress unwanted thoughts applied to ourselves, we make those thoughts more accessible when judging others. Essentially:
Newman: “Try not to think about pink elephants.”
Participant 1: “OK”
Newman: “What is Participant 2 thinking about?”
Participant 1: “PINK ELEPHANTS!”
Projection isn’t normally the sort of thing we’d be thinking about. That’s more your kind of thing. But since you brought up rampant Narcissistic Personality Disorder our attention was immediately drawn to our southern friends and neighbours.
“Projection” become the mot-du-mois in the American election. Early in Trump’s term, The Atlantic described Trump’s penchant for projection. Conservative outlets have since wielded the charge themselves. Both sides are now fond of labelling their opponents’ accusations as projections of their own failings and insecurities. For partisans, projection does not describe a manifestation of our unconscious as discussed by psychologists. Instead, it has been reduced to that most sophisticated schoolyard retort: “I know you are but what am I?"
Mercifully Canadians have mostly avoided this - let's call it - innovation in the political discourse. Pairing “projection” with Liberal, Conservative, or NDP still mostly returns election and budget forecasts for mentions in Canada. Sometimes we can be proud of being boring.
In contrast with partisan hacks, market researchers use projection as a constructive tool. Sometimes the best way to accurately capture a participant’s thoughts and feelings is to ask them to tell a story about a character, describe the behaviour of a stranger, or ask them about the thoughts of their peers. Participants may then project their own thoughts and feelings onto the character, revealing thoughts they might not be willing to attribute to themselves consciously.
Whether by Freud’s defense mechanisms, Jung’s unconscious self, or Newman et al.’s consequence of repression, understanding projection may be invaluable to research involving sensitive subjects.
We’ll leave you with our favourite projectionist. Although he may not succeed in reconciling your conscious and unconscious, if you can spare a few minutes he’ll probably leave you grinning.
And don’t think about any cute ...
Stay well.