Poll: Why does everything always blame something else?

[fletch_talon]

PC sales are down, Microsoft blames Tablets when we all know it's Windows 8.
There's a mass shooting, politicians blame games (slightly off-topic but it's an example of blaming something else)
EA accepts people hate them, they say it's because people don't understand them. (Not everyone, but anyone who understands the industry to an extent like escapists)
You can even bring this down to individual mistakes, it's not me, it's something else.

So why is it every time something makes a mistake or something happens they don't like they never admit it's them, it's something else.
EA could do much better if they admitted they had shitty business practices and tried to use better ones.
If politicians stopped lying all the time and tried to actually help their countries rather than please the voters we'd be better off.

So is Human Nature just shit and nobody think about improving? Or is it something else?

a) We don't know its Windows 8, some think it is. Much like Microsoft think its tablets. Its all theories and opinion and the blame probably lies with some combination of the 2 with other contributing factors thrown in to boot.
-Sincere Question: Did PC sales decline with the release of Vista? And did people attribute the former to the latter? Because I remember hearing at least as much complaining about Vista as I have Windows 8.

b) Politicians blame things that they think they can do something about (and something they dont have any issues changing). Hence why instead of reducing access to guns to reduce gun crime (which some of us believe to be a solution) or working on getting a better mental health system established (which all/most of us acknowledge to be part of the problem) they try to enforce restrictions on a contraversial form of entertainment that already has issues with public image in some demographics.
-Also, addressing your issue with politicians. Big part of the problem is that being a politician is a job. People who get into politics are just as likely to be doing it for the money as the wish to help their country. Also, even for those whose intentions are good, you have to make sure any policies you have can get results before your term is up because the majority of people don't care if you're working towards a goal. As far as they're concerned, you haven't done anything.
TL;DR
Politicians have to please voters, either because they want to keep their job, or they need to stay in power to effect change.

c) EA can't admit to their faults or else they would need to work towards changing them. This would be good for us but (as they see it) bad for them. They make a lot of money off of people who don't give a damn about the things people like the majority of Escapists hate them for so at this stage they're obviously not bothered enough to change.

In every situation there is a reason for shifting blame. Sometimes we don't know where the blame lies or there's multiple contributing factors (Microsoft), sometimes we blame something else to try and make up for things we can't change (Politicians) or don't want to (EA).
And believe it or not, sometimes we blame other things because we believe other things are to blame and we're not always wrong.

 

[Pinkamena]

Its easier to place the blame on something, for example, when a shootout occurs, people blame videogames, because when tragedy strikes, people need to blame something. In terms of lackluster PC sales, it is easy for them to blame tablets, because it is easier to push blame on something than to look into the problem, but who knows.

Reminds me of the time people weren't giving Epic Mickey (a game that got relatively positive reviews) full scores and the creator claimed it was because players "didn't get it" It surely wasn't the fault of the game holding your hand the whole way through or anything like that!

You're right, it's always easier to push the blame onto something else than having to deal with it yourself. But I don't think it's always a concious choice. Some times you might genuinely believe that the problem is caused by something other than yourself, and I guess that's what causes most game devs to retort with "You just don't get it" when their game gets bad reviews. I mean, they have worked really hard on it for years, of course they're going to be in love with it. They might understand on some basic level that their game just sucks, but they can't accept it because of how much effort they've put into it.

 

[HoneyVision]

People will go to EXTREME EXTREME EXTREME lengths to invent a 'logical' explanation for utter bullshit.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

I'm certain there's a psychological term for this.

'Self-serving bias' is probably the one you want. It's the tendency of people to attribute good things happening to then because they're an awesome person and the bad things due to some external factor.

 

[VoidWanderer]

"Shit rolls down hill".

People don't like to feel like they screwed up so they blame someone else, anyone else.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Admitting that you've made a mistake in the higher-budget tiers in the vidyagaems industry will probably make the higher-ups question why you're still employed.

There's hubris, and then there's covering your own behind.

 

[Yopaz]

Actually I think PC sales might be affected by tablets. Considering a lot use computers to go to Facebook, check the news and other things that only require a browser tablets can make an actual PC obsolete for some. Especially when we're able to use tablets to edit word files, which we can with Windows tablets. I'd say the hypothesis is valid, if maybe not entirely correct.

However to answer the question rather than nitpicking. We don't like being responsible for what goes wrong. The most common excuse for bad grades range from "The teacher doesn't like me" to "The test was too hard". Sometimes this can be a valid excuse, but it's more about not accepting responsibility than anything else.

 

[Abomination]

Your examples involve two businesses that are listed on the stock exchange and the other example involves politics.

If your company is listed on the stock exchange your CORPORATE IMAGE is everything. Admitting a mistake will result in a reduced share price which will upset investors which will lead to them voting against keeping you employed as the CEO in the next shareholder meeting.

Politics is the same thing: there are votes involved so you want to make it look like you're responsible for everything good and the opposition or the thing you oppose is responsible for everything bad.

It's not because they're arseholes - it's because it works and it works because many people are stupid.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Well it's not that complicated. Most of the time, people think they did the right thing, it's just a matter of perspective. The rest of the time, they know they fucked up, but they're sure as shit not going to admit it.

 

[Gatx]

Obviously no one wants to admit their wrong, and while it's good for a person to admit their wrong but I think as you gain more responsibility you also lose more when you own up to your mistakes. A big company admitting they made a faulty product might lose public confidence, resulting in a loss of customers and investors.

 

[soulfire130]

There many reasons to this qurstion. Ego-preservation. The large a group that says one thing, the more others will follow. People having a prejugdes against certain things and truely beleive that thing is the problem. That's just naming a few reasons.

 

[FalloutJack]

Well, regardless of what the right answer is according to the poll, it is TRUE that people are stupid. There are many that are always stupid and quite enough who have significant DUH moments arranged in such a way that it causes problems. Then, there are the the smart who have best laid plans that go to shit because of a tiny - yet perhaps understandable - flaw in the works.

None of that is entirely relevent to the discussion at hand. I just thought that was an interesting bit of thought right there.

OT: I can boil it down, though.

Some people can't be arsed to take responsibility, so there.

Some people don't want to be caught, told, and then punished.

Some people are full of shit up to their eyeballs, even fooling themselves.

Still more ARE, in fact, freakin' morons. It happens.

Others yet have an agenda where they want to cause trouble for another instead of themselves.

And finally...there are those who are actually - gasp and shock - NOT TO BLAME. As general as this thread is, I think I've covered enough of the bases, but yes...it must be understood that some people are NOT at fault. Weird...