Avoiding blame is as pervasive as blaming. It's not my fault is as reflexive as Who's to blame? Children quickly become facile with excuses, a social skill that remains prominent in adult life.

Blaming and avoiding blame are part of the psychodynamics of everyday life. Both reactions are important aspects of personality, manifest in everyday social interaction and in maintenance of the self-concept. In some people, these reactions become extreme. Some spouses and some bosses are chronic faultfinders. And some people give over major parts of their personality to avoiding blame, so that even a hint of criticism may trigger an elaborate pattern of blame-avoidance.