Is every interpersonal problem a problem of projection?

How can you tell when someone is projecting?

Everyone makes projections , i.e., makes interpretations, consciously, or unconsciously, of the experience called life itself.

Note: The unconscious process of making interpretations of our perception is referred to here as projection, whereas the conscious process of making interpretations of our perceptions is referred to here as the process of communication.

.[ Review lesson 15 for a definition of projection.] Although facts may be described as those interpretations which have an agreement in consensus, i.e., data which is measured by our senses, few facts are established with absolute certainty, if ever at all..

Does life exist without the observer, observing, the observed?[1]

Click your mouse pointer on this hyperlink to read an article written by Dr. Wolf

rhttp://twm.co.nz/wolf.html

Rhetorical Questions: Are you alive when defined by you, others, both, or neither? Although such discussions may be more relevant in courses, of philosophy, psychology, and physics, nonetheless, your success in relationships depends largely on the way you and the other person picture each other.

In short: your success, depends in a practical way, on the projections you and another person hold, and in the way you deal with those projections.

Watch for these common criteria regarding whether you have become a recipient of someone's projection: [2]

1. It is likely a projection when new behavior is suddenly directed at you,

2. It is likely projection when everyone sees the same thing about you,

3. It is likely projection when you don't understand how you deserve the perception the person holds,

4. It is likely projection when the picture someone has of you seems permanent and fixed and it continues to determine how that person treats you.

Assignment

Notice how you and your friends perceive each other. What sort of labels do you use to describe others? Talk to several friends and see what projections you can identify which you use in your interpersonal relationships. Be sure and include to whom you spoke and include what words they used to describe you. What words did you use to describe them?. What was the context within which this assignment was done? What projections did you notice that you used?

What have you learned about yourself and others? What do you think now? Is every problem in a relationship due to your projections of others and of their projections of you? Explain your reasoning and illustrate with an example

Remember our definition of projection is a little different from the Freudian defense mechanism termed projection. A projection, or problems of attribution, whether situational, or dispositional, is anytime a person reads something into another person or situation, and sees it as if it were true, when it is not. Gay and Kathleen Hendricks have stated it so succinctly in their book titled, "Centering the Art of Intimacy," when they wrote the following: "Projection begins the moment we forget we are in charge of creating the experience we are having."

1. Fred Wolf, Taking the Quantum Leap, San Francisco, Harper & Row,1981, p.146
1. George Weinberg, Dianne Rowe The Projection Principle, New York, St. .Martin Press, 1988, p.8

Email: rbrehm@msn.com Telephone: Cell 206-930-4197.
Copyright © 1998 [Robert Brehm]. All rights reserved.

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