5 Things You Always Wanted To Know About “A Victim Mentality and Game Theory” But Were Afraid To Ask…

What is this Q & A series about?

There are some things within strategic thinking and gamer psychology you really do need to know about but you weren’t aware of.

Once you do think about it, either there is nothing about it that you can read on Wikipedia, or so much complicated and jargony information that you can’t even begin to explore the subject.

This is where my team of data geniuses come in. We all have the same passion – using problem-solving, and trouble-shooting strategies drawn from HAGT (Harrison’s Applied Game Theory) to find solutions. Here we gather, organize, simplify, and share information to Medium readers in a basic Q & A format.

You can learn more about the Nobel Prize-winning idea of game theory at — AskLewisGameTheory.com

About  Victim Mentality 

#1 Q. What does it mean for an individual to have a victim mentality?

A. Victim mentality is an acquired personality trait in which a person tends to recognize or consider themselves as a victim of the negative actions of others, and to behave as if this were the case in the face of contrary evidence of such circumstances. Victim mentality depends on clear thought processes and attribution. In some cases, those with a victim mentality have in fact been the victim of wrongdoing by others or have otherwise suffered misfortune through no fault of their own. However, such misfortune does not necessarily imply that one will respond by developing a pervasive and universal victim mentality where one frequently or constantly perceives oneself to be a victim.

The term “a victim mentality” is also used in reference to the tendency for blaming one’s misfortunes on somebody else’s misdeeds, which is also referred to as victimism.

Victim mentality is primarily developed, for example, from family members and situations during childhood. Similarly, criminals often engage in victim thinking, believing themselves to be moral and engaging in crime only as a reaction to an immoral world and furthermore feeling that authorities are unfairly singling them out for persecution.

#2 Q. Are there specific skill sets that can be used to distinguish those with victim thinking versus those or are actual victims such as a government or corporate whistleblower?

A. Transactional Analysis (TA) an integrative counseling theory based on game theory that has elements of psychoanalysis, humanist theory, and cognitive psychology. Approaches, first developed by Canadian-born US psychiatrist Eric

Berne, starting in the late 1950s. TA distinguishes real victims from those who adopt the role in bad faith, ignoring their own capacities to improve their situation.

The pioneering behavioral psychologist R.D. Lang stated that that “it will be difficult in practice to determine whether or to what extent a relationship is collusive” — when “the one person is predominantly the passive ‘victim’”, and when they are merely playing the victim.

#3 Q. It would seem that if a person truly sees themselves as a victim that this pattern would become integrated into their very being as a “reality”?

A. This is true. I speak of this in conversations within my writings on Applied Game Theory) especially concerning Regenerating Thought Processes and sense and cellular memory.

What happens is that the pattern of seeing oneself as a victim in most or all unpleasant situations is intensified once a pattern of victimization has been internalized, This is what occurs when a person finds his or herself in a double bind — some emotionally distressing dilemma in communication, in which an individual (or group) receives two or more conflicting messages, in which one message negates the other. This creates a situation in which a response to one message appears as an ineffective or failed response to the other (and vice versa). In such a situation the person will automatically be wrong or ineffective regardless of response. Double binds appear when a person is unable to confront an inherent dilemma and thus is unable to resolve it or create an exit strategy.

#4 Q. Is there a way of exploring or studying these patterns?

A. There is a theory that explores Object relations. Here one explores the way possession by a false self can create a permanent sense of victimization- a sense of always being in the hands of an external fate. When addressing victim mentality in problem-solving scenarios there are a number of approaches that can also be explored. These include:

· Spiral of silence: Here one opinion in a group of individuals becomes dominant as those who perceive their opinion to be in the minority remain silent because they fear that they may be isolated or attacked by the group because of their opinion. Spiral of science is also known as political and mass communication theory, an idea propounded by the German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann

· Somebody Else’s Problem: (also known as Someone Else’s Problem or SEP) is a mental/emotional action where individuals/groups of individuals choose to dissociate themselves from an issue that may be in critical need of recognition. A common metaphor for this behavior is the “Ostrich putting its head in the sand.”

#5 Q. How can one break this type of pattern?

A. It requires that one take responsibility for one’s own desires and long-term actions. This is not easy to do for a person with a long pattern of victim thinking. Since HAGT is focused on personal development one must approach this issue from this perspective. If the pattern is locked in through what is called “emotional baggage” then various approaches can be used. Among these is Inner Child work. Emotional release Bodywork, Homeopathy, and Energy Medicine, Guided Journal Writing such as has been developed by Ira Progoff and various forms of “Ruthless Introspection”.

Takeaway

Change your attitude, Surrender your fear, and you can have a life of abundance and happiness.

If you have an interest in how and why I do what I do you may want to check out Harrison’s Applied Game Theory (HAGT).

HAGT is an umbrella term for thousands of systematic strategies that describe why and how individuals and organizations make decisions. This process involves more than just making wise choices. It is concerned with the effective organization of data and facts, predictive analytics, collaborative intelligence, self-love, serving others as well as ourselves and many other related ideas.

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Author: Lewis Harrison is an Independent Scholar with a passion for knowledge, personal development, self-improvement, and problem-solving. He is the creator of Harrison’s Applied Game Theory.

I was the kid in your school that the teacher implored to “focus more”. Instead, when I was sent to the back of the room for asking too many questions, I kept myself busy by memorizing all of the Encyclopedias on the back wall.

Lewis

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