Counterfactual relief

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Theoretical accounts distinguish temporal relief (ending of an aversive episode) from counterfactual relief (avoiding an aversive outcome).
• Prototypical relief often involves both avoiding a negative outcome and ending anxiety about it.
• This suggests relief might always require a temporal precursor, like anxiety cessation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if counterfactual relief occurs without a prior anxiety period.
• To compare the intensity of purely counterfactual relief with relief following anxiety cessation.

Main Methods:

• Study 1 (N=238): Participants described instances of purely counterfactual relief when prompted.
• Studies 2 (N=38) & 3 (N=98): Assessed relief attributions for cases with purely counterfactual vs. temporal precursors.

Main Results:

• Participants readily described purely counterfactual relief scenarios.
• Attributions of relief were comparable whether the precursor was purely counterfactual or involved anxiety cessation.
• The intensity of purely counterfactual relief was similar to relief preceded by anxiety cessation.

Conclusions:

• Purely counterfactual relief is a recognized experience in everyday life.
• The intensity of relief is similar, regardless of whether it follows anxiety cessation or solely involves avoiding a negative outcome.