Social Psychology Counterfactual Thinking - 1216 Words

Introduction Regret is classified as a negative feeling. As a general perception people who have regrets are considered to be sorry for any of their actions. However, it should be noted that regret is a different emotion that guilt. Just like many other people, I also have many regrets in life. Some of them are not very important, while the others are significant to me as they continue to affect my life in a negative way. In this paper I shall discuss three of my major regrets in life in context with the counterfactual thinking in social psychology. Counterfactual thinking The literal meaning of counterfactual thinking is the thought process that is contrary to the facts. When a person tries to change the antecedent that actually happened and then analyzes a situation that could have resulted with the changed antecedents, he begins to think how the situation could have turned out to be different than what it is now. For example, when a person survives a road traffic accident, he begins to think how he could have prevented the accident from taking place. He starts to think that if he was not over speeding then he might have not gotten into accident. This is the imagination of a counterfactual situation. Studies have suggested that counterfactual thoughts have the potential to produce negative feelings; nonetheless in rare instances they also produce some beneficial and functional effects (Roese, 1997). When people start having counterfactual thoughts, they also startShow MoreRelatedCounterfactual Thinking and Experiences of Regret1732 Words   |  7 PagesCounterfactual thinking and experiences of regret Introduction Counterfactual thinking is the cognitive process in which individuals can simulate alternative realities, to think about how things could have turned out differently, with statements such as ‘what if’ and ‘if only’. Counterfactuals can be either upward, in which alternative realities are improved, or downward, in which alternative realities are worsened. Reflecting on previous outcomes can make individuals experience regret and thisRead MoreEvaluating Causation When Confronted With Unfavorable Outcomes1743 Words   |  7 Pagesoften dwell on â€Å"what might have been† and wonder about the possible results of having made an alternative choice; we call this process counterfactual thinking (Sanna Chang, 2006). This paper aims to examine how this type of thinking can affect the ways in which we process causation when confronted with unfavorable outcomes. In order to gauge how counterfactual thinking can be affected, we will focus on the factors of gen der and mutability of a situation. According to Epstude and Roese (2008), whenRead MoreCounterfactual Thinking and Its Effects on Well-Being, Satisfaction, and Self –Efficacy2094 Words   |  9 PagesAbstract Studies are examined in relation to counterfactual thinking and how it can ultimately have effects on various self-perceptions and emotions. Satisfaction among students and their grades have been linked with counterfactual thinking (consideration of might-have-been alternatives to reality). Movement of direction is also considered, specifically when considering rape victims and their thoughts of what they could have done to prevent the outcome, presumably leading to self-blame. Self-EfficacyRead MoreEssay about Social-Psychological Principles of the Movie Unforgiven1333 Words   |  6 PagesSocial-Psychological Principles of the Movie Unforgiven Florida Institute of Technology Most movies have different social-psychological principles, however most people are watching movies to be entertained, and not to psychologically analyze them. There are many different principles that would be applicable to the film we are discussing however, I have chosen to analyze three scenes discussing altruism, self-fulfilling prophecy, and counterfactual thinking. Please review the following scenesRead MoreSocial Psychology As A Whole1509 Words   |  7 PagesThis artwork took a lot of thought and I wanted to demonstrate more than just a topic, but rather Social Psychology as a whole. The piece has three aspects, there is a person to the left hand side at a closer look to represent a person as an individual, the mirror with the main person’s reflection on how the individual views themselves and how others would see the main person, then groups of people to the right of the image. This is broken down into groups that the main person associates with, theRead MoreTo Wha t Extent Does Language Influence Thought? Essay2740 Words   |  11 Pagesof Time in English and Mandarin Research by Lera Boroditsky (2001) posed many interesting questions regarding linguistic diversity and the resultant interplay between language and thought: whether linguistic diversity stimulates different ways of thinking, whether learning new languages changes the way one thinks, whether bilingual and multilingual people think differently when speaking different languages. Clark (2003) maintains that although language does not indicate a complete map of consciousnessRead MoreRelationship Between Attributional Style, Information Valence, Likability, And Need For Cognitive Closure1215 Words   |  5 Pagesbetter: Dispositional optimism and pessimism and counterfactual thinking.  Personality Individual Differences,  86, 122-125. Collins, N.L., Miller, L.C. (1994). Self-disclosure and liking: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 116(3), 457-475. Goodmon, L. B., Kelly, C., Mauldin, M., Young, K. (2015). Jumping to negative impressions: The relationship between pessimism, information valence, and likability.  North American Journal of Psychology,  17(3), 485-508. Hargie, O. (2006). The handbookRead MorePysch Exam Chapter 811814 Words   |  48 PagesClark, who examines how people encode information from the environment d. All three scientists could be considered cognitive psychologists Answer: d; Moderate 5. According to your text, the cognitive approach became the most important school of psychology in the ____. a. 1940s b. 1950s c. 1960s d. 1970s Answer: c; Moderate 6. Which of these statements does NOT accurately identify a general difference between computers and the human brain? a. Computers process information in a parallel fashionRead MoreAn Examination of How Training and Development Initiatives in an Organization Can Impact on Employees’ Performance and Work Morale1851 Words   |  8 PagesJ.A., LePine, J.A., and Noe, R.A. (2000), ‘Toward an Integrative Theory of Training Motivation: A Meta-Analytic Path Analysis of 20 Years of Research.’ Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5), 678–707. 5. Epstude, K., amp; Roese, N. J. (2008). The Functional Theory of Counterfactual Thinking. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12, 168–192. 6. Fischer, G.W., and Nunn, N.P. (1992). ‘Nonmonetary Incentives: It Can be Done.’ Journal of Management in Engineering, 8(1), 40–52. 7. MihiotisRead MoreAnalysis Of Sapir Whorf And Benjamin Lee Whorf1867 Words   |  8 Pageslinguistic relativism. This is the belief that the language which we speak directly influences how we comprehend the world around us. Sapir (1949) writes of his belief that Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society. It is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of