Cyber blame and social theory

Barbara Hanson

Refereed Article, 2021

Hanson, B. (2021). cyber blame and social theory. SN Social Sciences, 1(7), 178–190.  

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Cybernetic causality reveals social processes of blaming. It allows for fluid multidirectional causal webs. Looking at blame through a cybernetic lens reveals social construction processes of creation, modification, exacerbation, dissipation, and elimination. Sometimes all at the same time. Performances of blaming can attribute praise or condemnation both simultaneously and sequentially. Blaming is enacted in multiple forms including being a conduit, reducing uncertainty, separation from self, a desire for efficacy, or a search for esteem. Mapping out fluid complexity in blaming might encourage using cybernetic causality to understand more aspects of social experience.