Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Counterfactual Thinking01:19

Counterfactual Thinking

Counterfactual thinking is a cognitive process wherein individuals mentally reconstruct alternative versions of past events, often beginning with “what if” or “if only.” This reflective mechanism plays a significant role in shaping emotional experiences and guiding future behavior. Though typically triggered by unfavorable or unexpected outcomes, counterfactual thinking can also emerge in mundane, everyday decisions and experiences, revealing its deep entrenchment in human cognition.Types of...
Creative Thinking01:25

Creative Thinking

Creative thinking encompasses innovative and unconventional methods for addressing challenges, often leading to groundbreaking solutions. Instead of focusing solely on enhancing existing systems, such as increasing smartphone battery capacity, creative thinking might inspire advancements like energy-efficient batteries or processors that minimize power consumption. This multidimensional approach underscores the importance of exploring novel pathways to innovation.
Divergent thinking is the...
Cognitive Learning01:21

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
Reason and Intuition01:37

Reason and Intuition

The human brain processes information for decision-making using one of two routes: an intuitive system and a rational system (Epstein, 1994; popularized by Kahneman, 2011 as System 1 and System 2, respectively). The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and operates with minimal effort, relying on emotions or habits to provide cues for what to do next, while the rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests that the brain can only use...
Problem-Solving01:29

Problem-Solving

Effective problem-solving consists of two steps: 1. identifying the problem and 2. selecting the appropriate problem-solving strategy (i.e., a plan of action used to find a solution). Humans use four problem-solving strategies:
Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition01:24

Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition

A revisionist approach to Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development has brought new insights that challenge and reinterpret his established ideas. Piaget proposed that the formal operational stage, emerging in adolescence, represents the culmination of cognitive maturity. During this stage, individuals are said to develop abstract thinking, engage in systematic problem-solving, and show a form of egocentrism, believing others are as preoccupied with their behavior as they are themselves.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

People prefer to negotiate with women, even when outcomes are identical and gender is unknown.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

The social relations-approach theory of social hierarchy: Understanding the distinct psychological experiences of status and power.

Psychological review·2026
Same author

Secure attachment may foster psychological momentum through building enduring happiness: insights from an exploratory cross-sectional study involving regular exercisers.

Frontiers in psychology·2025
Same author

Psychological drivers of gender disparities in leadership paths.

Trends in cognitive sciences·2025
Same author

Education Research: A Behavioral Intervention to Improve Group-Based Diagnostic Quality and Educational Experience Among Neurology Trainees: A Feasibility Study.

Neurology. Education·2025
Same author

The Privilege to be Yourself Depends on What Others Think of You: Social Status Increases Authenticity.

Personality & social psychology bulletin·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Problem-Solving Before Instruction (PS-I): A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
10:26

Problem-Solving Before Instruction (PS-I): A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Published on: September 11, 2021

Implications of counterfactual structure for creative generation and analytical problem solving.

Keith D Markman1, Matthew J Lindberg, Laura J Kray

  • 1Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA. markman@ohio.edu

Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|February 22, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Counterfactual thinking mind-sets influence problem-solving. Additive mind-sets boost creativity, while subtractive mind-sets enhance analytical tasks, impacting cognitive processing styles.

More Related Videos

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal
06:45

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal

Published on: April 18, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Problem-Solving Before Instruction (PS-I): A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
10:26

Problem-Solving Before Instruction (PS-I): A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Published on: September 11, 2021

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal
06:45

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal

Published on: April 18, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Decision Making
  • Problem Solving

Background:

  • Counterfactual thinking involves mentally simulating alternative realities.
  • Existing research suggests different counterfactual mind-sets may impact cognitive processes.
  • Previous primes often evoked subtractive counterfactuals, focusing on removal.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the differential effects of additive versus subtractive counterfactual thinking mind-sets.
  • To determine how these mind-sets influence creative generation and analytical problem-solving tasks.
  • To clarify the processing styles associated with each type of counterfactual thinking.

Main Methods:

  • Reanalysis of existing data to identify common counterfactual primes.
  • Experimental studies (1-4) manipulating additive and subtractive counterfactual mind-sets.
  • Assessment of performance on analytical problem-solving and creative generation tasks.

Main Results:

  • Subtractive counterfactual mind-sets significantly enhanced performance on analytical problem-solving tasks.
  • Additive counterfactual mind-sets significantly enhanced performance on creative generation tasks.
  • The findings support distinct processing styles for additive (expansive) and subtractive (relational) thinking.

Conclusions:

  • Additive counterfactual thinking promotes an expansive processing style, beneficial for creativity.
  • Subtractive counterfactual thinking promotes a relational processing style, beneficial for analytical tasks.
  • Understanding these mind-sets can optimize task performance by aligning cognitive strategies.