Reema Ayub – Where Psychology Meets Corporate

Projection is a psychological defense mechanism where individuals attribute their own thoughts, feelings, or insecurities onto others. In women, particularly in social and emotional interactions, projection often manifests through verbal aggression—backbiting, defamation, and passive-aggressive communication. Unlike physical aggression, which is more common in men, women often express their dominance or frustrations through words, using indirect but potent attacks on others' self-esteem. The irony? The person projecting often doesn’t realize they are doing it. They may genuinely believe that the negative traits they are criticizing in others belong solely to the other person, when in reality, those same traits exist within them. Psychologists have long studied social structures among women and found that competition often takes a verbal or psychological form. Evolutionary psychology suggests that, historically, men fought for status through physical dominance, while women engaged i...