Do most people blame other people to "justify" their stupidity?
Ex: A man walks in on his girlfriend or spouse cheating. He leaves and heads to a bar. He gets smashed, then gets in his car and drives... crashing into a pole. He becomes paralyzed. His wife is at the brunt of his blame because of cheating.
Is that justifiable?
2006-07-03 22:14:18 · 7 answers · asked by Kalley 2 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
The example I put up was a bit extreme, but It was the only thing I could come with. :)
2006-07-03 22:31:24 · update #1
I guess its easier to blame someone other than you for your mistakes. You can live better with yourself if it wasn't your fault.
2006-07-05 03:53:50 · answer #1 · answered by mysterio 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Yes, we use others to justify our stupidity, mistakes, shortcomings, and misgivings. It is a somewhat natural response brought on by pressure. Think of when you are pinned by an overwhelming question or task, you immediately think of other things, when those don't pan out, we blame people that "should have" told us and what not.
We are all responsible for our actions, but that does not mean that we are excused from the repercussions(to others) from our actions or lack thereof.
2006-07-04 05:47:28 · answer #2 · answered by cloveman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In Psychology this is what is known as the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE).
Basically what it means is that people will say that negative things happening to other people are down to an inner factor within that person (like 'Tom was late because he is lazy') but attribute negative things happening to themselves to external factors ( like 'I am late because my alarm didnt go off').
This is also linked to what is known as a 'self-serving bias', where people will attribute positive happenings to an inner factor within themselves ('I got that promotion because I worked hard for it and deserved it') and again negative happenings are attributed to factors external to the person ('I didnt get that promotion because my boss has a crush on the girl who did!!').
These are VERY common occurrences and studies have shown that people will frequently fall into the FAE. However, just because it is a common error, it does not mean that it is ok to do this. We all make mistakes and we are quick to judge the causes of misfortune in others, yet excuse ourselves as blameless when misfortune happens to us. We rarely know the full circumstances of other peoples misfortune, so we shouldnt just assume that there is a flaw in their character which has made them deserve what has happened to them.
All the best.
2006-07-04 18:32:01 · answer #3 · answered by Giorgie 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most people always seek to lay their acts of stupidity on the doorsteps of others. It is a sign of immaturity not to take responsibility for your actions or in-actions. People blame their friends, their parents, their colleagues, their spouse, their pet etc. It is just pathetic.
2006-07-04 05:47:35 · answer #4 · answered by TOO HOT 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with your statement. It is just to satisfy our ego.
However, the example quoted is too extreme to justify the stupidity of anyone.
2006-07-04 05:20:50 · answer #5 · answered by Kumar 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes they do, bcos one need to get rid of their responsibility easily, so the easy way out is "BLAME ON OTHERS"
2006-07-04 05:40:58 · answer #6 · answered by dancingdoll 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
everyone is responsible for his/her own actions.
2006-07-04 05:18:44 · answer #7 · answered by ugafan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋