Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning, a Robust Rodent Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Published on: October 13, 2018
Imagining What Could Have Happened: Types and Vividness of Counterfactual Thoughts and the Relationship With
Ines Blix1, Alf Børre Kanten2,3, Marianne Skogbrott Birkeland1
1Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway.
Abstract:
A growing body of research suggests that counterfactual thinking after traumatic events is associated with post-traumatic stress reactions. In this study we explored frequency of upward and downward counterfactuals in trauma-exposed individuals, and how trauma-related counterfactuals were represented in terms of vividness. We examined the relationships between vividness and frequency of counterfactual thoughts and post-traumatic stress reactions in two groups who had experienced different types of traumatic exposure, namely survivors and bereaved from the fire on the ferry Scandinavian Star in 1990. Even after 26 years, both survivors and bereaved reported that they currently entertained thoughts about what could have happened during the fire on Scandinavian Star. Survivors reported more downward counterfactuals than the bereaved, whereas the bereaved reported more upward counterfactuals than the survivors did. Vividness of counterfactual thoughts, as well as reported frequency of upward and downward counterfactuals, were associated with post-traumatic stress reactions. Our results suggest that both upward and downward counterfactuals can be harmful, and that vivid counterfactuals about a traumatic event might play a similar role in post-traumatic stress as trauma memories. Therefore, traumatized individuals who entertain counterfactual thoughts may benefit from interventions that target these thoughts specifically.
Related Concept Videos
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Symptoms and Behavioral Manifestations
A spectrum of distressing symptoms characterizes PTSD. Recurrent flashbacks, where individuals involuntarily relive traumatic events,...
Counterfactual Thinking
Relationship Formation
Types of Chemical Reactions: Anabolic and Catabolic
Anabolism is the process of combining smaller, simpler molecules into larger, more...
Types of Chemical Reactions: Exchange and Reversible
A special kind of exchange reaction is the oxidation-reduction reaction, or the redox reaction. These reactions involve the transfer of electrons from one compound to another. The electrons in these reactions commonly come from hydrogen atoms, which consist of an electron and a proton. A molecule gives up a...
Classification of Titrimetric Analysis Based on Reaction Types
Titrations between an acid and a base lead to neutralization reactions that form...

