What Is Externalizing?

Cognitive distortions, cognitive biases, or “unhelpful thinking styles” are characteristic ways in which our thoughts become biased (Beck, 1963). Externalizing is a well-known cognitive distortion in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Externalization definition: externalizing in a nutshell

Externalization (sometimes called “other-blame,” “personalized blame,” and “defensive attribution”) is a style of thinking whereby individuals attribute negative events to other people while minimizing their own responsibility. Some examples of this thinking style include:

• Blaming others (e.g., “It’s all his fault”).

• Denying responsibility (e.g., “She made me do it”).

• Self-justification (e.g., “He provoked me, so what I did is OK”).

Research suggests that individuals are more likely to think this way in situations where the role of other people is ambiguous (Hazebroek et al., 2001) or if they believe they are lowly valued by others (Orobio de Castro et al., 2002). In addition, people are likely to blame others if they are distrustful, angry, shame-prone, or feel threatened (Hazebroek et al., 2001; Singh, 2021; Tangey et al., 1992).

The costs and benefits externalizing

It is often assumed that external attributions for negative outcomes are healthy as they can help buffer self-esteem. This “self-serving bias” (Bradley, 1978; Zuckerman, 1979) relates to making internal attributions for positive events (e.g., “I passed the test because I’m clever”) and external attributions for negative events (“I failed the test because the questions were unfair”).

Self-serving attributions can also have positive social effects: individuals are less likely to be attacked by others when they blame transgressions and unjust acts on external causes rather than themselves (Weiner et al., 1987). External attributions can also be beneficial in the context of trauma. For example, individuals who blame others for childhood abuse often experience less distress and impairment than those who blame themselves (Hoagwood, 1990).

However, external attributions can also be maladaptive. Many studies indicate that blaming others for negative events is associated with reduced health and well-being (Tennen & Affleck, 1990). For instance, individuals who blame others for chronic pain experience greater pain and distress than those who do not (DeGood & Kiernan, 1996). Similarly, individuals who admit responsibility for road traffic accidents report fewer post-traumatic symptoms and better remission from post-traumatic stress disorder than those who blame others (Hickling et al., 1999).

External attributions also have adverse interpersonal effects. Blaming others can lead to isolation and alienation, particularly if others do not agree with these judgments (Sullivan, 1956). External attributions might cause individuals to turn against sources of social support and avoid others (Phillips, 1968). Within the context of psychological therapy, blaming others can undermine the therapeutic alliance and decrease motivation to change (DeGood & Kiernan, 1996).

Several other factors explain why external attributions have such negative consequences. At an intrapersonal level, blaming others can damage beliefs about the reliability of other and the benevolence of the world, resulting in increased vulnerability (Janoff-Bulman & Frieze, 1983). Blaming others reduces one’s sense of control over threats, while blaming oneself allows for change and adaptation (Hickling et al., 1999). Externalizing can obstruct the use of more adaptive coping strategies such as problem-solving (Tennen & Affleck, 1990), while anger associated with other-blaming can prevent the modification of distressing thoughts and trauma-related memories (Riggs et al., 1992).

The motivations behind externalization

Given the negative consequences associated with externalization, why are some individuals motivated to think in this way? One line of argument is that externalization reduces damage to self-esteem. Ashamed individuals often limit self-condemnation by replacing self-blame with other-blame and hostility, helping them regain control and escape a submissive interpersonal position (Potard et al., 2022; Thomaes et al., 2011). Research indicates that a propensity to shame is related to blaming others and hostility (Stuewig et al., 2010; Tangey et al., 1992).

A similar process has been observed in persecutory delusions. Kinderman and Bentall (1997) suggest that individuals with delusions have an exaggerated form of the healthy self-serving bias, blaming others for negative events to preserve fragile self-esteem. External attributions are self-protective in that they reduce discrepancies between the individual’s actual self and ideal self (Bentall & Kaney, 1996).

Justifying harmful actions can be an alternative motivation for externalization. In this context, it functions as a “self-serving” thinking style that legitimizes destructive acts while protecting the individual’s self-image and minimizing culpability. Research demonstrates that blaming others and minimizing personal responsibility is associated with violence and aggression, and increased risk of reoffending (Henning & Holdford, 2006; Oostermeijer et al., 2017).

Clinical presentations associated with externalizing

Externalizing is associated with a wide range of difficulties including:

• Addictions (Volk et al., 2019), anger (Oostermeijer et al., 2017).

• Anxiety (Rodríguez-Menchón et al., 2021)

• Chronic pain (DeGood & Kiernan, 1996)

• Depression (Blake et al., 2016)

• Narcissism (Beck et al., 2004)

• Paranoia (Kinderman & Bentall, 1997)

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (Hickling et al., 1999)

• Relationship problems (Bradbury & Fincham, 1990)

• Shame (Tangey et al., 1992).

Six ways to work with externalizing cognitions

1. Help clients notice and label externalization

Meta-cognitive awareness, or decentering, describes the ability to stand back and view a thought as a cognitive event: as an opinion, and not necessarily a fact (Flavell, 1979). For instance, clients might say to themselves, “I’m externalizing again,” whenever they notice these thoughts.

2. Explore costs and benefits

Explore the advantages and disadvantages of externalization. Useful prompts include: “What are the pros and cons of blaming someone else for this?” “What are the pros and cons of taking responsibility for it?” and “Does externalizing help or hinder you in reaching your goals?”

3. Use thought records to question externalizing thoughts

Encourage clients to re-evaluate externalization as it occurs. Useful prompts include: “What evidence supports this explanation?” “What evidence does not support this explanation?” and “Can you think of any other causes or explanations for what happened?”

4. Modify blaming language

Changing the client’s language can reduce intense affect and help them take more responsibility for their experiences. Other-directed “should” statements such as “She should have helped me” can be replaced with preferences such as “I would have preferred it if she helped me.” Clients can also practice taking greater ownership of emotional reactions, replacing “He made me angry” with “I felt angry.”

5. Use pie charts to broaden explanations

Pie charts are used to explore multiple factors that contributed to a particular outcome and avoid simplistic, blaming explanations such as “It was all my partner’s fault.” Ask the client to make a list of potential causes and allocate a slice of the pie to each one, including themselves and non-personal factors.

6. Identify and test underlying assumptions

It can be helpful to explore whether the client holds beliefs or assumptions that motivate externalization, such as “Admitting your faults makes you vulnerable” and “If I take responsibility, other people reject me.” Healthier assumptions can also be explored, such as “Everyone has faults – acknowledging them can lead to growth and acceptance.”

Further Reading

• Beck, A. T. (1963). Thinking and depression: I. Idiosyncratic content and cognitive distortions. Archives of General Psychiatry, 9, 324–333.

• Beck, A. T., Freeman, A., & Davis, D. D. (2004). Cognitive therapy of personality disorders (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.

• Bentall, R. P., & Kaney, S. (1996). Abnormalities of self-representation and persecutory delusions: A test of a cognitive model of paranoia. Psychological Medicine, 26(6), 1231-1237.

• Blake, E., Dobson, K. S., Sheptycki, A. R., & Drapeau, M. (2016). The relationship between depression severity and cognitive errors. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 70(2), 203-221.

• Bradbury, T. N., & Fincham, F. D. (1990). Attributions in marriage: review and critique. Psychological bulletin, 107(1), 3.

• Bradley, G. W. (1978). Self-serving biases in the attribution process: A reexamination of the fact or fiction question. Journal of personality and social psychology, 36(1), 56.

• De Castro, B. O., Veerman, J. W., Koops, W., Bosch, J. D., & Monshouwer, H. J. (2002). Hostile attribution of intent and aggressive behavior: A meta‐analysis. Child development, 73(3), 916-934.

• DeGood, D. E., & Kiernan, B. (1996). Perception of fault in patients with chronic pain. Pain, 64, 153–159.

• Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive–developmental inquiry. American psychologist, 34(10), 906.

• Hazebroek, J. F., Howells, K., & Day, A. (2001). Cognitive appraisals associated with high trait anger. Personality and Individual Differences, 30(1), 31-45.

• Henning, K., & Holdford, R. (2006). Minimization, denial, and victim blaming by batterers: How much does the truth matter?. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 33(1), 110-130.

• Hickling, E. J., Blanchard, E. B., Buckley, T. C., & Taylor, A. E. (1999). Effects of attribution of responsibility for motor vehicle accidents on severity of PTSD symptoms, ways of coping, and recovery over six months. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 12, 345–353.

• Hoagwood, K. (1990). Blame and adjustment among women sexually abused as children. Women & Therapy, 9(4), 89-110.

• Janoff‐Bulman, R., & Frieze, I. H. (1983). A theoretical perspective for understanding reactions to victimization. Journal of social issues, 39(2), 1-17.

• Kinderman, P., & Bentall, R. P. (1997). Causal attributions in paranoia and depression: Internal, personal, and situational attributions for negative events. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 341–345.

• Oostermeijer, S., Smeets, K. C., Jansen, L. M., Jambroes, T., Rommelse, N. N., Scheepers, F. E., ... & Popma, A. (2017). The role of self‐serving cognitive distortions in reactive and proactive aggression. Criminal behaviour and mental health, 27(5), 395-408.

• Phillips, D. L. (1968). Social class and psychological disturbance: The influence of positive and negative experiences. Social Psychiatry, 3(2), 41-46.

• Potard, C., Kubiszewski, V., Combes, C., Henry, A., Pochon, R., & Roy, A. (2022). How adolescents cope with bullying at school: Exploring differences between pure victim and bully-victim roles. International journal of bullying prevention, 4(2), 144-159.

• Rodríguez-Menchón, M., Orgilés, M., Fernández-Martínez, I., Espada, J. P., & Morales, A. (2021). Rumination, catastrophizing, and other-blame: the cognitive-emotional regulation strategies involved in anxiety-related life interference in anxious children. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 52(1), 63-76.

• Riggs, D. S., Dancu, C. V., Gershuny, B. S., Greenberg, D., & Foa, E. B. (1992). Anger and post‐traumatic stress disorder in female crime victims. Journal of traumatic stress, 5(4), 613-625.

• Stuewig, J., Tangney, J. P., Heigel, C., Harty, L., & McCloskey, L. (2010). Shaming, blaming, and maiming: Functional links among the moral emotions, externalization of blame, and aggression. Journal of Research in Personality, 44, 91–102.

• Sullivan, H. S. (1956). Clinical studies in psychiatry. W. W. Norton.

• Tangey, J.P. (1992). Situational determinants of shame and guilt in young adulthood. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18 (2), 199–206.

• Tennen, H., & Affleck, G. (1990). Blaming others for threatening events. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 209–232.

• Thomaes, S., Stegge, H., Olthof, T., Bushman, B. J., & Nezlek, J. B. (2011). Turning shame inside-out: “humiliated fury” in young adolescents. Emotion, 11(4), 786.

• Volk, F., Floyd, C. G., Bohannon, K. E., Cole, S. M., McNichol, K. M., Schott, E. A., & Williams, Z. D. (2019). The moderating role of the tendency to blame others in the development of perceived addiction, shame, and depression in pornography users. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, 26(3-4), 239-261.

• Weiner, B., Amirkhan, J., Folkes, V. S., & Verette, J. A. (1987). An attributional analysis of excuse giving: Studies of a naive theory of emotion. Journal of personality and social psychology, 52(2), 316.

• Zuckerman, M. (1979). Attribution of success and failure revisited, or: The motivational bias is alive and well in attribution theory. Journal of personality, 47(2), 245-287.