People can elicit praise simply by avoiding embarrassing consequences that their own carelessness made likely to occur. A good example is “Nice catch!” following the timely rescue of an object that, through lack of awareness, was sent falling to the floor.

It’s a curious thing, applauding sans sarcasm someone who made a mistake. Whether the receivers of such praise consequently impart a strengthened and favorable impression on witnesses of the whole episode, and thus enjoy a more advantageous position in social-group-context than did their pre-mistake selves, is a matter of debate.

As with many concepts, graphics will help illustrate this one. Lacking the expectation that a clear, 3D representation could easily be produced, I offer instead two 2D snakes in the midst of volcanic danger.

The general shape of the plots above should be true for most circumstances which fall into the family of circumstances defined by the opening sentence of this post, and for which the mistake-maker successfully takes corrective action, but the language below is specifically in reference to the “Nice catch!” situation.

Truths common to both plots:
1. Any contact with the magma zone in either plot spells no return in both.
2. Time, predictably, finds its home on the x-axis.
3. The green square denotes that point in time when a persistent lack of awareness finally sends an object falling towards earth’s center of gravity.
4. The blue square denotes the timing of remarkable corrective action taken to avoid plunging into magma.

Truth particular to the 1st plot:
1. This upper magma boundary problem could be solved by redefining the y-axis as impression weakness, but I like the notion of hot matter in the sky.

Truths particular to the 2nd plot:
1. The yellow measure is the debatable increase in favorableness of impression, over pre-fall levels, after successfully rescuing a falling item.
2. The incline connecting the blue square to the right-hand side plateau is the likely region for praise to be given.

Conjecture:
Any action taken by, or any disruption in the vicinity of, one whose initial impression on others is informed by their inaction, will increase the strength of their impression. In this way, the incline of the first plot is inevitable, even if the person fails to catch the falling item and it smashes on the floor; indeed, in that case, the incident would likely be even more memorable in the minds of witnesses than if the mistake-maker had caught the item, and the decline starting at the blue square would become an incline, ultimately terminating in the upper boundary magma zone.