"But it is certainly has nothing to do with conscious deception or refusal to take
personal responsibility."

You sure of that? Really sure?

I'm not really sure of anything. But I cannot believe that freshmen college students are lying or being lazy when they will not give a correct answer in front of the rest of the class and will refuse to ask questions when they do not know the answer.

Do Chinese ever lie or deny responsibility? Of course!

But that is not about 'face' as Chinese understand it and as Westerners cannot.