Scapegoating

Scapegoating 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., 'Jane was the reason our team didn't win'), and groups against groups. Scapegoating 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., 'Jane was the reason our team didn't win'), and groups against groups. A scapegoat may be an adult, child, sibling, employee, peer, ethnic, political or religious group, or country. A whipping boy, identified patient or 'fall guy' are forms of scapegoat. A medical definition of scapegoating is: