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I'm wondering about this in relation to the notion of a "culture of victimization", when people want to garner sympathy and/or discharge their guilt by being considered victims.

The phrase "culture of victimization" refers to the situation of many people having that desire and not to the desire itself. "Masochism" is close I suppose, but somehow not quite right.

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Reminds me of the book, "I'm OK; you're a pain in the neck." – Hexagon Tiling Mar 13 '12 at 23:34

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Some friends have suggested "martyr complex" and "victim complex". Those are pretty good, let's see if any other suggestions come up.

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You'll presumably be aware that martyr and victim have significantly different meanings. "Martyr complex" is quite a well-established term in psychology, but in common speech they're almost interchangeable, and I think you may actually be more likely to hear "victim complex" in general conversation. – FumbleFingers Mar 13 '12 at 23:09
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The expression self pity is perhaps more accurate than "masochism".

Masochism has certain additional connotations, quite separate from the desire to garner sympathy or discharge perceived guilt.

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While technically the act rather than the desire, "victim playing" seems to be a good fit.

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