system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is the scientific basis behind the observation of 'projection', i.e. that, if a person expects others to behave a certain way, it's also likely they exhibit tendency towards the same behaviour?
gpt
The *psychological* notion of 'projection' has little scientific basis. It's a theory promulgated by early psychologists that relies on untestable hypotheses. Basically, the notion is that you're trying to assuage your own guilt or bad feelings by 'projecting' them onto others.

The *social* notion of 'projection' is based on the idea that our framework for understanding others is established by our understanding of ourselves. There has been research done to establish the validity of this model, so it can be regarded as scientific.