Source: Forbes
Today, David yelled at me. I had a bad day at work. His firm makes me miserable. As a child, I had no desire to be an architect. It was forced upon me by my parents. My dream has always been to become a singer. It is my pleasure to sing all day long. If I had chosen singing as my profession, I would have been happier.
On that day, my dad brought home an application for architecture school. Today was my last chance to decide if I wanted to pursue architecture. My thoughts gnawed at me like hell. I knew I couldn't be what my dad wanted. I took up architecture because I didn't want to disappoint him.
I should not have taken up architecture that day. It would have been better if I had fought with my parents and chosen to sing. To me, today would be a wonderful day. My work would be enjoyable. It would have been a great honor to earn the fame and recognition I deserve.
Looking back at our past, most of us think the same way. This is what is meant by Counterfactual Thinking. The psychological concept describes things that are counterproductive to what has actually happened; things that are contrary to what has actually happened.
Counterfactual Thinking
Counterfactual Thinking is the act of imagining how events in one's life might have turned out differently. Feelings of regret or disappointment are often present here, as well as relief at a narrow escape. Counterfactual thoughts are those that, in the present, could never happen in reality, since they are purely based on past events.
Increasingly, counterfactual thinking has gained attention from a psychological perspective. Cognitive scientists have analyzed how the creation of counterfactuals is underpinned by mental representations and cognitive processes.
Counterfactual thinking is often a means of relieving current problems by connecting with past events. We have all been doing this for years, whether we’ve acknowledged it or not.
According to one observation regarding Olympic medal winners, the winner of a bronze medal was happier than the one with a silver medal. The act was justified with counterfactual reasoning. In this situation, the winner of the bronze wins the medal over his or her opponent. Silver medalists win the medal after losing to their opponent.
Source: The Straits Times
The Process of Counterfactual Thinking
In counterfactual thinking, there are two components:
Activation - In the beginning, there is activation. Our ability to incorporate counterfactual thought into a conscious state of mind is what activates this activation. In this step, any situation seems problematic. So, the person starts to wonder if this was not the situation.
Creation of Content - The second section focuses on content. Creating the end scenario for the antecedent is the purpose of this content portion. This step involves recreating a situation based on one's comfort level.
Is Counterfactual Thinking Helpful?
Most of us recreate past situations and find peace in them. Remembering past regrets is actually painful. According to many scientific papers, counterfactual thinking helps people make better decisions in the future. As a result, if faced with similar challenges, people are better prepared to handle them.
Additionally, we tend to avoid risky behavior by thinking about the possible consequences. As a result, we are able to better cope with our behavior after experiencing any negative situation. Despite our best efforts, sometimes these unpleasant situations occur anyway. To learn how to prevent a similar occurrence in the future, counterfactual reasoning is essential when dealing with such situations.
Counterfactual thinking tends to influence how people set their goals. When events occur repeatedly, there is a greater desire to imagine alternative antecedents to prepare for a better outcome in the future.
According to counterfactual thinking, group events are more effective when all the group members are motivated; therefore, counterfactual thinking is beneficial to groups.
Counterfactual Thinking Isn’t Always Positive
People tend to think positively of any past situation in Upwards CT, whereas in Downwards CT they tend to see how much worse it could be. In either case, they are relieved and think according to their comfort level.
Another type of counterfactual thinking involves either adding or subtracting events that have already occurred. Sometimes, we add certain actions that might have helped, and in some cases, we take away certain actions that were not beneficial.
Whether real or imagined, people tend to fantasize about every situation that favors them. They are happy because of this tendency as well. At the end of the day, all we need is happiness.
Written By - Dr. Nayana Shree Suresh
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