Unleash Your Inner Social Worker: Master the SWES Human Behavior Exam 2026!

The correct answer is projection, which is a defense mechanism where individuals attribute their own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and motives onto others. In the context of paranoia, individuals may distrust others and believe that those around them harbor negative intentions or are plotting against them. This often stems from their own fears and insecurities. By projecting these feelings onto others, they can rationalize their distrust and feel justified in their suspicions. Essentially, individuals who experience paranoia often project their own internal conflicts onto the environment, interpreting innocent behaviors as threats.

Repression involves pushing uncomfortable thoughts and feelings into the unconscious, which does not directly explain the active distrust seen in paranoid individuals. Denial is the refusal to accept reality or facts, which may manifest in different ways but doesn't specifically account for the feelings of distrust towards others. Rationalization involves creating logical explanations for behaviors that are actually motivated by irrational thoughts or emotions, but it does not encapsulate the relational aspect of distrust that projection does, where the individual attributes their own feelings onto others.