blame

Blame is the act of holding a person or group responsible for a fault or harmful outcome. It can be a cognitive attribution—deciding that a particular agent caused an event—and a social practice in which others express disapproval, assign responsibility, or sanction the actor. Blame differs from mere causation or outcome; it involves judgments about intent, negligence, or moral desert and often carries emotional or normative weight. In everyday use, people may blame others for mistakes, or they may blame circumstances or luck when agency seems limited.

Psychological theories of blame include attribution theory and the tendency toward the fundamental attribution error, in which people overemphasize dispositional factors for others and underweight situational factors. Individuals also display self-serving biases, attributing successes to themselves and failures to others. Blame can target actions, outcomes, or character, and it can be diffuse (societal blame) or specific (an individual).

Socially, blame serves as a mechanism of norm enforcement and conflict resolution. It can promote accountability and deterrence, but it can also fuel scapegoating, resentment, and harm to relationships. Cultural contexts shape how blame is expressed and whether it is directed publicly or privately, and how forgiveness or apology is negotiated.

In law and ethics, blame often maps onto culpability or responsibility, balancing intention, negligence, and consequences. Philosophers debate whether blame is justified if outcomes were unforeseen or if moral luck played a role.

Related concepts include accountability, responsibility, guilt, and forgiveness. Blame remains a contested and context-dependent tool for signaling disapproval and shaping behavior.