Empirical Studies of Projection: A Critical Review

Abstract

Empirical work to date on the Freudian concept of projection is assessed. Previous reviews are considered and recent work integrated as well as material from several disciplines. This is an area with a substantial but convoluted research literature from which elements are distilled which seem essential for progress in the clarification of Projection, particularly with reference to its defensive qualities and its targeting. Of the many forms of projection that have been included in previous literature, two, Classical and Attributive (Holmes, 1868), are isolated as relevant to this paper. A “checklist” of pertinent factors for future designs is drawn up which integrates the strongest strands from work done under the rubric Social Psychology. It is concluded that despite the tenacity of the projection concept, work so far has provided a series of methodological caveats and much suggestive, but little conclusive data.