In a recent study that explored counterfactual thinking in the context of intimate relationships, Lauren Studer (2016), an alumna of our graduate program in … More recent research has suggested that these consequences of upward and downward counterfactual thinking can also be re-versed. Thus, counterfactual thinking is an important area of study in research about coping mechanisms, anxiety, and depression. The failure of counterfactual thinking to diminish likely increases the likelihood of negative consequences. Counterfactual thinking in the courtroom Counterfactual thinking can play a role in jury decision-making. T1 - The Functional Basis of Counterfactual Thinking. N2 - Counterfactual thoughts ("might-have-been" reconstructions of past outcomes) may serve an affective function (feeling better) and a … While you read through it, jot down 3 counterfactuals that come to mind. These orthogonal counter-factual types are often assessed by the Counterfactual Thinking for Negative Events Scale (CTNES; Rye et … Depression and PTSD predicted 9% of the downward counterfactual thinking. The counterfactual thoughts for silver medalists tend to focus on how close they are to the gold medal, upward counterfactually thinking about the event, whereas bronze medalists tend to counterfactual think about how they could have not received a medal at … Downward counterfactual thinking is the opposite of upward counterfactual thinking, in so far that it involves imagining how life could be worse had we not made the decisions we did in the past e.g. Counterfactual thinking can boost commitment at times and reminds people that life does not always happen randomly, but is often influenced by the decisions and choices that one makes. Downward counterfactuals may also serve an affective function by helping to make people feel better following negative outcomes outside of their control. There is an inherent outcome bias in reviewing events (and near-misses). Ultimately, counterfactual thinking is believed to amplify the meaning of life and experiences that each person will have. These reflections are called downward counterfactual thinking. “I’m glad I broke up with him when I did, a … ... That is, they recognize the consequences could have been more undesirable, called a downward counterfactual. At the most basic level, outcome valence is a key antecedent, such that negative more than positive outcomes activate upward counterfactual thinking [37–39]. For instance, when a participant discovers that the option he/she selected led to monetary loss (CO) while … Chasity Howard. upward or downward counterfactual thinking. asked Apr 30, 2020 in Psychology by ecz923. Characteristics of Counterfactual Thinking However, downward counterfactual thinking was unable to predict the students’ persistence. Roese (1994) following negative outcomes participants who generated downward counterfactuals (things could have been worse) felt better than those who generated upward counterfactuals (things could have been better). Our main study (N = 1150) and six supplementary studies (N = 1901) re-examined this link to reveal a different result, a weak relation between optimism and upward (rather than downward) counterfactual thinking. 62). Ambiguities surround a series of past studies in which optimism predicted relatively greater downward counterfactual thinking. Such types of counterfactual thinking include the upward and downward counterfactual thinking, the additive and subtractive thinking and also the self versus other thinking. Upward counterfactual thinking focuses on how things could have turned out better, while downward counterfactual thinking focuses on how things could have turned out worse. counterfactual: an imagined alternative about how things could have been better Downward counterfactual: an imagined alternative about how things could have been worse to an action, such as he went to a party, they imagine an alternative to the action, for example, “If This kind of thinking is difficult for people to engage in, but can be useful for planning and preparedness, especially for surprising, low-probability, high-consequence black swan events. In contrast, downward counterfactual thoughts lead to lower levels of posttraumatic stress and little to no posttraumatic growth (Barnett & Maciel, 2019). The link between goals and counterfactual direction of comparison is further illuminated by consideration of the antecedents to counterfactual thinking. Three studies showed that upward (vs. downward) counterfactual thinking increased negative affect, but only additive (vs. subtractive) counterfactual thought increased participants’ willingness to sign up for a lung-capacity test. In the occurrence of losing a loved one because of a kidnapping, upward counterfactuals inflict an overall detrimental effect by in- … Downward Counterfactual Thinking 3 We have, without any doubt, the best Police Department, the best Fire Department, the best police officers, the best fire officers, the best emergency workers of any place in the whole world. “Downward” – This clip shows Downward Counterfactual Thinking because if Cam and Mitchell had not adopted the baby; she would have grown up in a crowded orphanage. An upward counterfactual (as opposed to a downward counterfactual) is generated when people imagine better (rather than worse) alternative states, such as having made the right choices, successfully avoiding a tragedy, or achieving a better version of oneself (Epstude and Roese, 2008, Markman and McMullen, 2003). Thus, counterfactual thinking appears to involve a tradeoff of protecting affect for improving future performance. consequences of counterfactual thinking, the possible negative consequences related to counterfactual thinking has received less attention. Depression and Thinking Styles of Depression Depression is defined as a state of low mood associated with psychophysiological Counterfactual thoughts, mental simulations about how a situation may have turned out differently (i.e., "if only …, then …"), can reduce mental health after stressful life-events. (counterfactual: upward, downward) mixed design, withcounterfactualwithin-subjects.Wepredictedfastest reaction times to upward and downward counterfactual statements when self-motives suggest a direction consis-tent with that activated initially. This is counterfactual thinking: reimagining the past somehow different than it actually was. There are several types of counterfactual thinking, two of them being the upward and the downward counterfactual thinking. The upward state of this type of thinking is when we think at things that could have changed the outcome of an event in better. a concept in psychology that involves the human tendency to create possible alternatives to life events that have already occurred; something that is contrary to what actually happened. Bronze medalists tend to have upward counterfactual thinking. Such thoughts may be differentiated in terms of direction of comparison, such that upward counterfactuals focus on how the past could have been better, whereas downward counterfactuals focus on how the past could have been worse. Upward counterfactuals might not, at least initially, improve mood, but they do uncover insights or knowledge that can be used to enhance performance in the future. For example, after receiving 55% on an exam, they might feel they would have received 65% if they had slept better the night before. By definition, counterfactual thinking is the creation of possible alternatives to certain life events that have already happened. We examined the relationships … cause such comparisons, like downward counterfactual compar-isons with a hypothetical worse state of affairs, may evoke positive affect via a contrast effect.4 Evidence for the functional basis of counterfactual thinking consists of two essential components. Answer (1 of 2): The highest from of counterfactual thinking is philosophical thinking known as falsification: it asks why something is NOT what it is NOT. In bad moods, quick responses should occur for self-improvement and self- Counterfactual thinking is the process of looking back at events and thinking how things could have turned out differently. Downward counterfactual thinking may serve the function of enhancing coping and feelings of relative wellbeing by highlighting how the situation or outcome could easily have been worse. Upward counterfactual thinking focuses on how things could have turned out better, while downward counterfactual thinking focuses on how things could have turned out worse. The counterfactual voting thought, and the reasons to vote questionnaire were the stimulus materials used to assess counterfactual thinking and voting decision respectively. Upward counterfactual thinking focuses on how the situation could have been better. using downward counterfactual the consumer might think, “Had the store offered a smaller discount, I would have paid more.” Why do people engage in counterfactual thinking (hereafter, CFT)? However, the authors suggest that under conditions in which self-enhancement motives are prominent, downward counterfactuals will be more frequent than upward counterfactuals. By contrast, an ‘upward counterfactual’ considers what could have happened if events had a more positive outcome. Bronze medalists; Question: Bronze medalists are sometimes happier than Sliver medalists because: Bronze medalists tend to have downward counterfactual thinking. Counterfactuals and their implications for perceptions of time and causality have long … TY - JOUR. PDF | Counterfactual thinking puts a negative reality and better or worse alternative outcomes in the mind simultaneously. Focusing on how things could have gone worse tends to make people feel better. Moreover, downward counterfactual thoughts and downward comparisons with others occurred 10 times more often than upward counterfactuals and upward comparisons. We all succumb to such thinking at one point or another. Counterfactual Thinking for Negative Events Scale (CTNES): Eight items from the 16-item CTNES (Rye et al., 2008) was used to measure each of the downward non-referent CFT (4 items) and upward self-referent CFT (4 items). The following is a shortened version of the vignette the researchers used to evaluate counterfactual thinking. Counterfactual thoughts are of two types - … A positive correlation was found between upward counterfactual thinking and hindsight bias effect (r= … Living in neither the best nor worst of all possible worlds: Antecedents and consequences of upward and downward counterfactual thinking MN McMullen, KD Markman, I Gavanski What might have been: The social psychology of counterfactual thinking, 133-167 , 1995 on counterfactual thinking has found that individuals often compare counterfactual alternatives to reality, leading to an affective contrast effect (Markman & McMullen, 2003; McMullen, 1997). COUNTERFACTUAL thinking is a psychological concept involving our human tendency to create possible alternatives to life events that have already happened. As This kind of thinking is difficult for people to engage in, but can be useful for planning and preparedness, especially for surprising, low-probability, high-consequence black swan events. "Downward" counterfactuals acknowledge that things could have been worse--"If I hadn't asked for the raise so politely, I would have been fired"--and thus can make us feel better. The self-blame aspect of counterfactual thought often makes the grief or pain afflicting an individual worse. involves imagining how things could have been worse. We also examined the degree to which counterfactual thinking was related to self-reports of stigma, a way of thinking about depression that may be influenced by meaning-making. This is called counterfactual thinking. Crucially, counterfactual thoughts are often evaluative, specifying alternatives that are in some tangible way better or worse than actuality. Janice Clarke. A growing body of research suggests that counterfactual thinking after traumatic events is associated with post-traumatic stress reactions. (counterfactual: upward, downward) mixed design, withcounterfactualwithin-subjects.Wepredictedfastest reaction times to upward and downward counterfactual statements when self-motives suggest a direction consis-tent with that activated initially. In a follow-up 2 years later, 95% answered they had been lucky. Within a few short years, research on counterfactual thinking has mushroomed, establishing itself as one of the signature domains within social psychology. Downward counterfactual thinking means reimagining a past event so that it somehow ends worse than it did in reality. The text also mentions about “how when one or any individual fails to achieve a goal, it can often lead to a negative … In contrast, downward counterfactuals spell out the way a situation might have turned out worse; that is, the same driver could think: “If I had been driving faster, I might now be dead.” Upward counterfactuals seem to be the most common in everyday life. social-and-applied-psychology; If tragedy strikes you, do you tend to use more upward counterfactual thinking or downward counterfactual thinking? Counterfactuals serve a preparative function, and help people avoid past blunders. Counterfactual thinking also serves the affective function to make a person feel better. By comparing one's present outcome to a less desirable outcome, the person may feel better about the current situation (1995). It basically means “counter to the facts”, and comes with phrases that we know pretty well: “If I had only…” and “What if?”. There is an inherent outcome bias in reviewing events (and near-misses). Counterfactual thinking was varied into downward and upward counterfactual conditions, while gender was categorized into male and female electorates.
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