Psychology of Blame and People Who Blame
The psychology of blame is not as old as blaming. While blaming has been done since antiquity, the psychology has not been around nearly that long. Blame psychology refers to studying the behavior and attitudes of people who blame, judge, censure, hold others responsible or make negative statements attributing fault to individuals, groups or even inanimate objects. Psychology has shown that the basis for which we blame others may be, in part, an expression of grandiosity and devaluing others. In this way, the blamer may feel superior.
The psychology of blame also involves how we correctly or incorrectly assign fault. How we make decisions to decide whether someone is to blame. Oftentimes we don’t make a decision to blame, the blame is more of a reflex; a quick, reactive response without much cognitive processing. The psychology of blame also looks at why people blame themselves. While people may self-blame, the psychology has shown us that others may also blame the victim; blaming rape victims for being attacked or blaming bully victims for being bullied. We often blame others to shift responsibility away from us. A study showed that blaming behavior may indeed be contagious even for uninvolved observers.
It has also demonstrated that blaming can be used to objectify people or even groups and nations. It is through group blaming that most battles, wars and terrorism occur. It is through blaming that we not only hurt others but we hurt ourselves with the focus and concentration on negativity. In this way, the psychology of blame is related to the psychology of negativity. Conversely, it is through positive psychology and positive psychological principles that we should learn how to quit the blame game.
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