Repressors project threatening traits onto others because they suppress unwanted thoughts

Evidence

When individuals confront evidence indicating they may not be the type of people they want to be, they might attempt to suppress thoughts of that evidence. But research by Wegner and colleagues (e.g., Wegner, 1992) indicates that actively trying to keep a thought out of awareness can backfire; suppression of a thought can ironically increase the accessibility of that thought. The frequency with which unwanted thoughts are activated causes them to become chronically accessible (Higgins, 1989) and to therefore dominate people’s perceptions of others, resulting in projection. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2355 (#expands, via linked claim)

More recently, though, projection has been reconceptualized in socialcognitive terms, and perhaps not coincidentally, is enjoying a revival of interest. Newman, Duff, and Baumeister (1997) formulated and tested a model of defensive projection in which the tendency to overperceive one’s own undesired traits in others is a byproduct of another defense: thought suppression. When individuals confront evidence indicating they may not be the type of people they want to be, they might attempt to suppress thoughts of that evidence. But research by Wegner and colleagues (e.g., Wegner, 1992) indicates that actively trying to keep a thought out of awareness can backfire; suppression of a thought can ironically increase the accessibility of that thought. The frequency with which unwanted thoughts are activated causes them to become chronically accessible (Higgins, 1989) and to therefore dominate people’s perceptions of others, resulting in projection. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2355 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Civilized subjects project their own repressed mimetic impulses onto others as repellent remnants. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1426; Suppressing unwanted traits causes people to project them onto others, relieving their own discomfort; Repressors project their denied traits onto others more than nonrepressors — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2356 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Suppressing unwanted thoughts ironically increases their accessibility and causes projection onto others. #expands (0.95) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2355
• Thought suppression ironically makes unwanted traits dominate one’s perceptions of others #expands (0.92) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2355