Why do Scam Victims so often Allow Themselves to Accept Failure?
The Challenge is to Understand Why This is So!
Primary Category: Scam Victim Recovery Psychology
Author:
• Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
About This Article
The human tendency to allow failure, particularly among scam victims, is influenced by both psychological and philosophical factors. Psychologically, fear of success, imposter syndrome, and self-sabotage cause victims to subconsciously undermine their recovery.
Philosophical perspectives, such as existentialism and stoicism, view failure as an inherent part of life that exposes vulnerabilities, encourages personal growth, and helps individuals confront their limitations.
Scam victims may crave failure as it provides comfort, control, or a familiar sense of inadequacy, allowing them to avoid responsibility, accountability, or emotional growth.
Why do Scam Victims so often Allow Themselves to Accept Failure?
The tendency of humans, and specifically scam victims, to allow themselves to fail can be very challenging for them, their families, and those trying to help them. To understand it though, requires both psychology and philosophy.
From a Psychological Perspective
In psychology, fear of failure and self-sabotage often stem from deep-rooted beliefs about worthiness and competence. Some people subconsciously undermine their own success due to a fear of the responsibilities or expectations that come with achievement. This is often tied to perfectionism or imposter syndrome, where individuals feel they are not good enough, leading them to fail as a way of affirming their doubts.
Humans may also crave failure as part of a self-fulfilling prophecy or a desire to confirm pre-existing negative beliefs. This phenomenon can be linked to learned helplessness, where past failures make a person believe they are incapable of succeeding. Repeated failures can make individuals feel safer, as success might introduce new unknowns, pressures, or responsibilities they are not prepared to face.
Moreover, risk-taking behavior also plays a role. Humans are naturally wired for dopamine-driven behavior that seeks novelty and reward, sometimes even risking failure for the sake of pursuing new or risky opportunities.
Psychological Perspective on Why Humans Allow Themselves to Fail
Fear of Success: Often, people fear the expectations, responsibilities, or changes that come with success. This fear can lead to self-sabotage, as failure seems safer or more familiar.
Imposter Syndrome and Perfectionism: Some individuals set impossibly high standards or feel like frauds, even when they achieve success. Failure, in this case, reinforces their internal beliefs about inadequacy, creating a cycle of underachievement.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Negative beliefs about oneself, such as “I always fail,” can lead to behaviors that confirm those beliefs. For example, a person might procrastinate or not prepare adequately, ensuring failure and fulfilling their internal narrative of inadequacy.
Learned Helplessness: People who have faced repeated failures can develop a mindset where they believe their efforts are futile. This learned helplessness, first explored by psychologist Martin Seligman, can result in passivity and lack of motivation to try, even in new, unrelated situations.
Risk-Taking and Reward Seeking: The human brain is wired for novelty and reward, driven by dopamine. Sometimes, individuals pursue risky opportunities in search of quick success or gratification, knowing that failure is possible but seeking the thrill and potential reward.
Comfort Zone and Avoidance: Failure can keep people in their comfort zone, avoiding the discomfort of growth or change. Some people would rather stay where they are, even if it’s a place of failure, than face the unknown that comes with trying to succeed.
Cognitive Dissonance: When actions don’t align with self-perceptions, people experience discomfort. To reduce this discomfort, they may alter their actions to maintain internal consistency. If someone views themselves as a “failure,” they may act in ways that ensure continued failure, thus avoiding the cognitive dissonance of acting against that self-view.
Self-Sabotage: A Defense Mechanism
Self-sabotage is another psychological process that explains failure. It can be a defense mechanism used to avoid the pain of potential disappointment. By failing on their own terms, individuals maintain a sense of control, rather than risking the emotional blow that might come with trying and still failing.
From a Philosophical Perspective
In philosophy, failure can be seen as an essential part of the human condition and the quest for meaning. Existentialist philosophers, such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, discuss how failure is part of living authentically. Failure exposes the limitations and imperfection inherent in human nature. It allows individuals to confront their vulnerabilities, and in doing so, leads to greater self-awareness and personal growth. In this view, failure is not just a setback, but a stepping stone toward self-realization.
Furthermore, stoicism teaches that failure is a natural part of life and not something to be feared or avoided. Instead, failure should be embraced as an opportunity to exercise resilience and inner strength. Philosophers like Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius believed that failure provides an opportunity to practice virtues such as patience, humility, and acceptance of things beyond one’s control.
Philosophical Perspective on Why Humans Allow Themselves to Fail
From a philosophical standpoint, failure is seen as a key part of the human condition and a necessary aspect of growth and self-discovery. Philosophers throughout history have explored the relationship between failure, imperfection, and human nature.
Existentialism and Authenticity: Existentialist philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus emphasize that failure exposes human vulnerabilities and limits. It forces individuals to confront the reality of their existence, leading them toward greater self-awareness and authenticity. According to existentialism, life is inherently full of choices and uncertainties, and failure is a natural consequence of exercising free will. Through failure, individuals learn to confront the absurdity of life and define their purpose.
Stoicism and Virtue: Stoicism, a philosophy developed by thinkers like Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, teaches that failure is an inevitable part of life that must be met with acceptance and resilience. Stoics believe that individuals cannot control external events but can control their reactions to them. Failure, in this view, is an opportunity to exercise virtues like patience, humility, and perseverance. Rather than being defined by failure, Stoicism suggests that individuals grow stronger by embracing and learning from it.
Aristotelian Ethics and Human Potential: Aristotle argued that humans strive to achieve their full potential through virtue and rational thought. Failure, from this perspective, occurs when individuals fall short of their potential. However, Aristotle also acknowledged that failure is a necessary part of the process of learning and growing. It is through failure that individuals refine their character and develop the virtues necessary for flourishing (eudaimonia). This idea ties into the concept of practical wisdom (phronesis), where making mistakes helps individuals make better decisions in the future.
Nihilism and Absurdism: Philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche and Albert Camus argue that failure highlights the absurdity of life. Camus, in particular, suggested that the human experience is marked by a constant search for meaning in an indifferent universe. In this context, failure is not just inevitable but an essential part of human existence. Rather than despairing over failure, Camus encouraged embracing the absurd and finding personal meaning despite it, which is how individuals transcend the fear of failure.
Human Fallibility and Moral Growth: Philosophically, failure is tied to the idea of human fallibility—the understanding that humans are imperfect and prone to error. Philosophers like Immanuel Kant emphasized that moral growth often arises from failure. Kant believed that individuals have a duty to act ethically, but since humans are not infallible, failure is an opportunity to reflect on and correct their moral behavior. Failure, then, serves as a teacher, encouraging people to develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their moral obligations.
Nietzsche’s Embrace of Failure: Friedrich Nietzsche argued that failure and struggle are essential for achieving greatness. He famously coined the phrase, “What does not kill me makes me stronger,” which reflects the idea that failure toughens individuals and allows them to achieve greater heights. Nietzsche’s concept of the Übermensch suggests that transcending failure is a way to evolve beyond the limitations of ordinary human existence. For Nietzsche, embracing failure is part of becoming more resilient, self-determined, and powerful.
Craving Failure
Humans may “crave” failure due to a combination of psychological patterns and philosophical reflections on human imperfection. Psychologically, failure can confirm negative self-beliefs or relieve the anxiety that comes with the pressure of succeeding. Philosophically, failure is embraced as a way to confront the realities of existence and gain insight into personal growth. Rather than avoiding failure, some individuals may seek it as a means of learning and refining their purpose, desires, or capabilities.
A Deeper Look
Craving failure might seem counterintuitive, but both psychological and philosophical perspectives suggest underlying reasons why humans might unconsciously seek it.
Psychological Comfort in Failure: For some, failure represents a return to familiarity or a way to avoid the pressures that come with success. If failure aligns with their self-perception of inadequacy, it can feel like an affirmation of deeply held beliefs about themselves, making it less emotionally threatening than risking success. This phenomenon is often tied to self-sabotage, where people may unconsciously limit their efforts or create obstacles to ensure failure. Failure provides a way to control the outcome and avoid the vulnerability that comes with striving toward achievement.
Fear of Success: On a deeper level, some individuals fear what success entails—responsibility, visibility, and new expectations. Success can bring about significant changes, which can feel unsettling. Fear of change or the unknown can cause people to stick with patterns of failure, as they prefer the certainty of disappointment over the unpredictability of success.
Failure as a Learning Tool: Failure can also be seen as an essential part of growth. Philosophically, trial and error is a core process through which humans evolve and learn. In this sense, failure is craved because it provides immediate feedback and a path to improve. The concept of “failing forward” encourages the idea that failure isn’t inherently negative but a way to refine skills, learn from mistakes, and gain resilience.
Avoiding Accountability: For some, seeking failure allows them to avoid accountability or responsibility. If an individual continuously fails, they can rationalize that they are not in control or that external factors are to blame. This can prevent them from having to own up to decisions or actions that may be scrutinized if they succeed.
Failure as a Philosophical Necessity: From a philosophical standpoint, especially in existentialism, failure represents the confrontation with one’s limits and the absurdity of life. It reflects the unpredictability of existence and can be seen as a necessary component of authentic living. Rather than avoiding failure, some may crave it to experience life fully, embracing both the highs and lows that come with being human.
Masochistic Tendencies: In certain psychological frameworks, individuals may derive a form of satisfaction from failure, particularly if they have developed a masochistic tendency where they associate self-punishment with a form of emotional release or validation. This craving for failure can be deeply tied to unresolved emotional trauma or low self-worth.
Summary
Failure is a central concept in both psychological and philosophical thought, representing an opportunity for learning, growth, and achieving a deeper understanding of human existence.
Helping victims and others to understand this tendency is important in being able to support scam victims through their struggles.
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Some of our articles discuss various aspects of victims. This is both about better understanding victims (the science of victimology) and their behaviors and psychology. This helps us to educate victims/survivors about why these crimes happened and to not blame themselves, better develop recovery programs, and to help victims avoid scams in the future. At times this may sound like blaming the victim, but it does not blame scam victims, we are simply explaining the hows and whys of the experience victims have.
These articles, about the Psychology of Scams or Victim Psychology – meaning that all humans have psychological or cognitive characteristics in common that can either be exploited or work against us – help us all to understand the unique challenges victims face before, during, and after scams, fraud, or cybercrimes. These sometimes talk about some of the vulnerabilities the scammers exploit. Victims rarely have control of them or are even aware of them, until something like a scam happens and then they can learn how their mind works and how to overcome these mechanisms.
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Note about Mindfulness: Mindfulness practices have the potential to create psychological distress for some individuals. Please consult a mental health professional or experienced meditation instructor for guidance should you encounter difficulties.
While any self-help techniques outlined herein may be beneficial for scam victims seeking to recover from their experience and move towards recovery, it is important to consult with a qualified mental health professional before initiating any course of action. Each individual’s experience and needs are unique, and what works for one person may not be suitable for another.
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