GATE 2021 XH5 – Question 29
A student prepared inadequately for an examination but attributes a failing grade to an unfair test, cheating by other students or poor teaching. Which defence mechanism is expressed?
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Correct answer: (A) Projection
Explanation
The official answer is A, projection: responsibility for the failure is attributed to outside people or circumstances rather than owned by the student. Reaction formation reverses an unacceptable impulse and repression excludes it from awareness. There is conceptual overlap with D, rationalization, because plausible excuses can also protect self-esteem; the paper’s keyed external-attribution interpretation is preserved rather than presenting this example as an unambiguous distinction.