A Failure to Obtain Defensive Projection

Abstract

The hypothesis that Ss who have received incompatible information about themselves will tend to project the undesirable attribute onto other persons, particularly those within their own social category, was tested by attempting to induce cognitions of incompetence in college student Ss, then obtaining ratings of hypothetical characters, ratings of photos of unknown persons, or TAT stories. Although experimental Ss rated self-competence lower than controls, no significant projective effects were obtained at the .05 level on any of the measures employed.