rationalskepticism.org

Keep It Real wrote:

Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states—beliefs, intents, desires, emotions, knowledge, etc.—to oneself, and to others, and to understand that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that are different from one's own.[1] Theory of mind is crucial for everyday human social interactions and is used when analyzing, judging, and inferring others' behaviors...Empathy is a related concept, meaning the recognition and understanding of the states of mind of others, including their beliefs, desires and particularly emotions. This is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes".

Psychological projection is a defence mechanism in which the human ego defends itself against unconscious impulses or qualities (both positive and negative) by denying their existence in themselves while attributing them to others.[1] For example, a person who is habitually rude may constantly accuse other people of being rude. It incorporates blame shifting.

I often trot out the line "another psychic in our midst" here when I perceive a post as inaccurately attributing a certain psychological state to underpin a post. When, on the other hand, I am in agreement with the attribution, I let it go or even agree.

I guess we all play the psychic in day to day life, but I wonder just how often we get things wrong about this. Probably not the best OP I've made but maybe interesting for some.

I think they're quite distinct from each other. So these descriptions can be converted to Trump and squirrels for easier discussion. Donald Trump projects nearly every day, for instance when he says that Hilary colluded with the Russians. He doesn't seem to have much empathy, if any.
A squirrel has theory of mind, as they behave differently if they think another squirrel is watching them hide food. They are aware that the other squirrel is an individual who also may desire that same food, and if it sees where it's hidden, may take it.
They're not projecting what they themselves feel onto others, they're attending to their own needs while aware other entities exist with their own wants and needs, which may overlap.