It's always curious to me when people are called out on their bullshit, and they attack with excuses and outlandish claims, rather than just taking responsibility for their actions. Or just simply being honest.
Benedict Carey of the The New York Times notes that the "burn of embarrassment" causes most people to dish out excuses. That they're protecting their self image with something called "self handicapping".
"The urge goes well beyond a mere lowering of expectations, and it has more to do with protecting self-image than with psychological conflicts rooted in early development, in the Freudian sense."
People who are constantly making excuses also are believed to "wait until after choking to practice their craft" and have an inherent fear of success. They self sabotage and are happier with knowing that they really coulda been something if they have really tried, than, as Dr. Hirt of Indiana University, says, "knowing that they did their very best and failed."
I've found that this is the case for some people that constantly make excuses. "Oh, I was sick and had to go home," as in, "Oh, I just couldn't be bothered to take a risk, so I'm just going to bow out."
Some are genuinely afraid of trying their best because, lo and behold, they may fail. No one likes to fail.
However, sometimes people are just thoughtless, useless, and fucking lazy. Self-handicapping and "protecting the self image" aside, there are plenty of people out there who just have no sense of responsibility to others, or even to themselves.
These people don't need Freud, they need a good kick up the ass. And sometimes a slap in the face.*
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