In psychoanalysis, the process of transposing thoughts generated by the psyche onto the outside world, thus enabling the subject to rid themselves of character traits they would prefer not to see themselves have. For example, as Freud, Sigmund argues, gothic tales and horror stories give body to nameless and essentially empty anxieties and fears as well as desires that most people have. It can take more paranoid forms, too, such as the subject who is uncertain about their ability to remain faithful who then projects infidelity onto their partner. Projection is central to the work of Klein, Melanie, who employs it in her account of childhood development to explain how children âact outâ their internal thoughts. So when a child deliberately breaks a toy they could be seen as projecting their own sense of helplessness in the family situation. See also introjection.