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Thinking within the box: The relational processing style elicited by counterfactual mind-sets
Laura J Kray1, Adam D Galinsky, Elaine M Wong
1Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. kray@haas.berkeley.edu
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|July 13, 2006
Summary
Contemplating "what if" scenarios (counterfactuals) enhances relational thinking but hinders novel idea generation. This mindset benefits tasks requiring association analysis but impairs creativity when new concepts are needed.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Counterfactual thinking involves comparing reality to alternative possibilities.
- This process is hypothesized to promote a relational processing style, influencing cognitive performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how counterfactual mind-sets affect performance on tasks requiring relational processing versus novel idea generation.
- To determine the conditions under which counterfactual thinking aids or hinders cognitive tasks.
Main Methods:
- Multiple experiments were conducted to test the effects of counterfactual mind-sets.
- Studies involved assessing performance on analytical, creative generation, and creative association tasks.
Main Results:
- Counterfactual mind-sets were shown to increase relational thought preferences.
- Performance improved on analytical tasks involving logical relationships.
- Performance decreased on creative tasks requiring novel idea generation due to association biases.
- The negative impact was specific to novel idea generation, not creative association tasks.
Conclusions:
- Counterfactual thinking fosters a relational processing style, beneficial for tasks analyzing associations.
- This mindset can impede creativity by biasing thought towards salient associations, particularly in novel idea generation.
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