projection /-jek″shən/ [L, projectio, thrown forward] , 1. a protuberance; anything that thrusts or juts outward. 2. the act of perceiving an idea or thought as an objective reality. 3. (in psychology) an unconscious defense mechanism by which an individual attributes his or her own unacceptable traits, ideas, or impulses to another. It is noted in some stages of schizophrenia.
