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Personality and Social Psychology Review
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Excuses and Character: Personal and Social Implications of Excuses

Barry R. Schlenker

Beth A. Pontari

Andrew N. Christopher

Department of Psychology, University of Florida

Recent research has emphasized the effectiveness of excuses in protecting the self from the implications of failures and transgressions. The disadvantages of excuses have been relatively neglected. The triangle model of responsibility provides a conceptual framework to analyze how excuses disengage the self from events and the conditions under which advantages and disadvantages accrue. On the disadvantage side, excuse-makers risk being seen as deceptive, self-absorbed, and ineffectual; they are viewed as unreliable social participants with flawed character These undesired consequences result when excuses are used in ways that lower credibility (e.g., fail to receive corroboration), lower goodwill (e.g., blamefailures on team members), and produce long-term disengagement (e.g., lead to failures to correct personal deficiencies). It is proposed that excuses are effective in the long run only if they balance short-term disengagement of the self and long-term engagement. Excuses are especially problematic when used to disengage the self from important, recurring tasks.

Personality and Social Psychology Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 15-32 (2001)
DOI: 10.1207/S15327957PSPR0501_2
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