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Related Experiment Videos

Counterfactual thinking

N J Roese1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208-2710, USA. roese@nwu.edu

Psychological Bulletin
|January 1, 1997
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Counterfactual thinking, imagining alternatives to past events, automatically occurs with negative feelings. Despite causing distress, this process ultimately benefits individuals by inferring causes of misfortune.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Counterfactuals are mental representations of past events.
  • These representations can have both positive and negative consequences.
  • A functionalist model aims to explain these dual effects.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review research supporting a functionalist model of counterfactual thinking.
  • To assert that counterfactual thinking is automatically activated by negative affect.
  • To explain the beneficial outcomes of counterfactuals.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of existing research on counterfactual thinking.
  • Analysis of studies investigating the cognitive and affective consequences of counterfactuals.
  • Examination of the mechanisms underlying counterfactual generation and impact.

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Main Results:

  • Counterfactual thinking is automatically triggered by negative emotions.
  • The content of counterfactuals focuses on probable causes of negative events.
  • Counterfactuals induce negative affect via contrast and positive inferences via causal reasoning.
  • The overall impact of counterfactual thinking is beneficial.

Conclusions:

  • Counterfactual thinking serves an adaptive function.
  • The model integrates the seemingly contradictory beneficial and aversive effects.
  • Understanding these mechanisms can inform interventions for emotional regulation.