Psychology Atlas

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Psychological Phenomena

Social Projection

Social Biases and Group Effects

In social psychology, social projection is the process through which a person expects the behaviors or attitudes of others to resemble their own. It occurs both between individuals and across ingroup and outgroup lines in a range of domains, and research has shown that social categorization affects how much projection occurs; cognitive accounts treat social projection as a heuristic, a mental shortcut, while motivational accounts treat it instead as a way of feeling connected to other people.

Facts
Core Claim
The psychological process through which an individual expects behaviors or attitudes of others to be similar to their own. 1
First Described Year
1924 1
Classification
Type of Phenomenon
Cognitive Phenomenon 1
Type of Phenomenon
Social or Interpersonal Phenomenon 1
Sources
1. Social projection, Wikipedia
  • Lead paragraph
    In social psychology, social projection is the psychological process through which an individual expects behaviors or attitudes of others to be similar to their own.
  • History section
    The term social projection was first coined by Floyd Allport in 1924.
  • lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
    In social psychology, social projection is the psychological process through which an individual expects behaviors or attitudes of others to be similar to their own.
  • lead section, phenomenon-kind classification, additional value cognitive
    Cognitive approaches emphasize social projection as a heuristic, while motivational approaches contextualize social projection as a means to feel connected to others.
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