Externalization: How We Blame External Forces for Our Failures

We manage life through a smooth balance of protecting our ego and accomplishing tasks that ensure survival and fulfill desires. Life doesn’t march along smoothly, at least not as smoothly as we desire. We crash into unplanned walls of disappointment, failure, and resistance. We dust ourselves off, pick up the pieces, and continue towards our goal. However, the past doesn’t disappear. It percolates in our mind. We give the failures meaning, drawing conclusions, learning lessons, and integrating the event into our new narrative of self. When we primarily project the causes of our failures onto outside causes, we call this externalization.

Introduction: The Protecting Role of Externalization

In psychology, we refer to externalization as a defense mechanism. We externalize by projecting behaviors, feelings, or emotions on outside forces. Instead of viewing the cause of a disturbing event as a personal failure, we view it as an unfortunate string of circumstances or bad behavior of others.

Dorothy Hochreich explains that a person who possesses an external orientation projects blame “for personal inadequacies and failures onto bad luck or the malevolent influences of other people.” She continues, “By using blame projection…the external person thereby avoids taking personal responsibility or actual or anticipated failures” (Hochreich, 1975).

Externalizers adopt an external locus of control as a defense mechanism. “The rationale behind this concept is that attributing reinforcement control to forces outside of himself, the individual is freed from the responsibility for outcomes of his own behavior and is thus relieved of the personal threat that those outcomes may incur” (Prociuk & Breen, 1975).

See Locus of Control for more on this topic

Example of Externalization

The other day, while I was with my grandchildren at the park, I overheard a few friends rousing a young man for failing to capture a milestone event of his first child on video. He responded, “It wasn’t my fault. I had my dog on a leash, he jumped and pulled my hand and the video function turned off.”

Shifting Responsibility

Externalizers masterfully take any cause for a behavior and shift responsibility to the cause. In reality, everything we do has a preceding cause, some trigger in the environment leading to our reaction. We easily can identify that event and point to that event as responsible for our behavior, never taking responsibility for anything, whether it is violently assaulting an innocent victim, burglarizing a store, or failing to record a baby’s first steps.

In interviews of perpetrators of serious crimes, researchers Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson discovered that, “Most of the perpetrators reported, at least in retrospect, that what they did was reasonable; their actions might have been regrettable, but they were understandable, given the circumstances.” In addition, the perpetrators that regretted their behavior but minimized it. They greatly maximized any external or mitigating circumstances while minimizing their role in the event (Tavris & Aronson, 2020).

As George Vaillant explains, their “distortion grossly reshapes external reality to suit inner needs” (Vaillant, 1998).

Are their Benefits to Externalizing?

Life is challenging. Taking every unforeseen event as a sign of personal failure is a pathway to depression. Removing some of the blame, projecting causes rightfully on outside forces relieves the individual of a tremendous weight.

T. Franklin Murphy wrote:

“Personalization also overgeneralizes events as personally relevant, taking unrealistic responsibility for outcomes beyond one’s control” (Murphy, 2021).

The optimal goal is taking enough responsibility that we can make necessary behavioral adjustments in the future to not repeat maladaptive behaviors.

Other Forms of Externalization

Another form of externalization in literature is externalizing inner emotions and judgements onto others. Jerome Blackman wrote, “A special form of projection where you experience a part of your mind as ‘external’ to yourself. You might think someone or ‘society’ will criticize you, when actually you feel self-critical” (Blackman, 2003). Basically. I critically and unconsciously judge myself for a behavior (ego ideal), project my thoughts onto someone else and get angry at them for judging me in such a harsh manner.

Dangers of Externalization

Externalizing damages relationships and prevents personal growth. Many of our difficulties arise from circumstances we had some control over. Failing to recognize our role in our current circumstances blinds us to resolutions to the problems. For example, a person suffering from heart disease may ignore their poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyle and blame the genetic factors. This relieves them from guilt over self-destructive behaviors. However it also diminishes their opportunity for change.

Dr. Les Carter suggests:

“Emotionally independent people do not require that all the external factors be in place first before they can proceed with healthy plans. Armed with well-conceived priorities, they look for a way to put their best qualities into action, especially in circumstances that might otherwise evoke traits that are inconsistent with their convictions” (Carter, 2009).

Wayne Dyer preaches to “decide that any and all unhappiness that you choose will never be the result of someone else, but rather that it will be the result of you and your own behavior. Remind yourself constantly that any externally caused unhappiness reinforces your own slavery, since it assumes that you have no control over yourself or them, but they have control over you” (Dyer, 2009, p. 171).

Associated Concepts

• Narrative Therapy: This therapeutic approach, particularly associated with Michael White and David Epston, uses externalization as a technique to help clients separate themselves from their problems. It operates on the premise that “the person is not the problem; the problem is the problem,” allowing individuals to address issues more objectively.
• Psychoanalytic Theory: In psychoanalysis, externalization is understood as a defense mechanism where individuals project their internal states onto the external world. This process is generally unconscious and serves to defend the ego against unpleasant feelings or experiences.
• Blame: This behavior refers to a defense mechanism of shifting responsibility away from oneself onto others. By attributing negative outcomes or situations to external factors or other people, individuals can avoid confronting their own role in the situation.
• Personal Responsibility: This concept refers to an individual’s ability to take ownership of their thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions. It involves acknowledging one’s role in shaping their life circumstances and initiating the necessary changes to achieve personal growth and well-being.
• Cultural-Historical Psychology: Vygotsky’s cultural-historical theory discusses the externalization of psychological functions, particularly how humans use tools and signs to mediate cognitive processes. This theory emphasizes the role of culture and social interaction in the development of higher psychological functions.
• Social Constructionism: This sociological perspective views externalization as part of the dialectic process of society’s formation, where individuals and groups project their ideas and values onto the social world, thus shaping reality.
• Design Thinking: In the field of design, externalization refers to the process of making tacit knowledge explicit, often through techniques like sketching or writing, to better identify and utilize ideas during the design process.

A Few Words by Psychology Fanatic

By distancing ourselves from our problems, we gain the perspective needed to tackle them with fresh eyes and renewed vigor. However, when we push problems to far, denying all responsibility, we lack motivation to make necessary changes. Externalizing allows us to become the authors of our own narratives, to rewrite the stories that no longer serve us, and to step into a role of empowerment. However, it also is a path to denial, disappointment, and recurring mistakes.

Let us carry forward the wisdom of balanced externalization, not as a mere psychological strategy—a way to navigate the complexities of life with grace, resilience, and a deepened understanding of the self. Certainly, we can’t rely on a perfect balance between externalizing and personalizing. As we can watch for signs when we over-rely on one or the other, we can make necessary adjustments to keep our life moving forward without the weight of unnecessary guilt.

Last Update: January 29, 2026

References:

Blackman, Jerome S. (2003). 101 Defenses: How the Mind Shields Itself. Routledge; 1st edition. APA Record: 2004-18574-000
(Return to Main Text)

Carter, Les (2009). The Anger Trap: Free Yourself from the Frustrations that Sabotage Your Life. Jossey-Bass; 1st edition. ISBN: 9780787968809
(Return to Main Text)

Dyer, Wayne (2009). Your Erroneous Zones: Step-by-Step Advice for Escaping the Trap of Negative Thinking and Taking Control of Your Life. Harper Collins. ISBN: 0060919760
(Return to Main Text)

Hochreich, Dorothy J. (1975). Defensive externality and blame projection following failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32(3), 540-546. DOI: 10.1037/h0077102
(Return to Main Text)

Murphy, T. Franklin (2021). Personalization. Psychology Fanatic. Published: 8-3-2021; Accessed: 3-19-2023. Website: https://psychologyfanatic.com/personalization/
(Return to Main Text)

Prociuk, T., & Breen, L. (1975). Defensive externality and its relation to academic performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31(3), 549-556. DOI: 10.1037/h0076506
(Return to Main Text)

Tavris, Carol; Aronson, Elliot (2015). Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts. Mariner Books; Revised, New edition edition. ISBN-10: 0547416032 APA Record: 2007-07067-000
(Return to Main Text)

Vaillant, George E. (1998) Adaptation to Life. Harvard University Press; Reprint edition. ISBN: 9780674004146
(Return to Main Text)

Related Articles