scapegoating
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.1| (), drypoint by Albrecht Dürer 1512 depicting [[Jesus Christ]] Scapegoating, sometimes called playing the blame game, is the practice of singling out a person or group for unmerited blame and consequent negative treatment. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals (e.g., "he did it, not me!"), individuals against groups (e.g., "I couldn't see anything because of all the tall people"), groups against individuals (e.g., "He was the reason our team didn't win"), and groups against groups.
Research
397 papers- Scapegoating mentally ill people.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2019
- Scapegoating and othering in drug policy: A special themed section.The International journal on drug policy · 2021
- Scapegoating.The American journal of nursing · 1977
- Scapegoating in Healthcare: A Primitive Response to Tragedy.The International journal of social psychiatry · 2025
- Scapegoating in group psychotherapy.International journal of group psychotherapy · 2007
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
Show 1 more fact
- Commons category
- Scapegoats
via Wikidata · CC0
~8 min read
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- At the individual level
- Its archetype
- Projection
- Scapegoat theory of intergroup conflict<!--'Scapegoat theory of intergroup conflict' redirects here-->
- Scapegoat mechanism<!--'Scapegoat theory of intergroup conflict' redirects here-->
- See also
- References
thumb|upright=1.1| (), drypoint by Albrecht Dürer 1512 depicting [[Jesus Christ]] Scapegoating, sometimes called playing the blame game, is the practice of singling out a person or group for unmerited blame and consequent negative treatment. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals (e.g., "he did it, not me!"), individuals against groups (e.g., "I couldn't see anything because of all the tall people"), groups against individuals (e.g., "He was the reason our team didn't win"), and groups against groups.
A scapegoat may be an adult, child, sibling, employee, or peer, or it may be an ethnic, political or religious group, or a country. A whipping boy, identified patient, or fall guy are forms of scapegoat.