Fantasy proneness and counterfactual thinking

Running Head: Fantasy Proneness and Counterfactualthinking

Counterfactual thinking.

Counterfactuals are mental representations of alternatives to the past and produce consequences that are both beneficial and aversive to the individual. These apparently contradictory effects are integrated in a functionalist model of counterfactual thinking. The author reviews research in support of the assertions that (a) counterfactual thinking is activated automatically in response to negat...

Counterfactual thinking in physics

Counterfactual thinking plays a key role in research in physics and, I believe, in research in all natural sciences. In this contribution I will describe a few examples of counterfactual thinking, how it is used, the power of this method of inquiry, and the types of results that can be achieved. A brief account of the way physicists carry out research will be given and three main types of quest...

Dissociation and fantasy proneness in psychiatric patients: a preliminary study.

Nonclinical studies found that dissociative experiences are intimately linked to a trait known as fantasy proneness. We examined the links among dissociative symptoms, fantasy proneness, and impulsivity in psychiatric outpatients. Our sample consisted of 22 patients with schizophrenia, 20 patients with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, and 19 patients with a major depressive disor...

Counterfactual Thinking Facilitates Behavioral Intentions.

People often ponder what might have been, and these counterfactual inferences have been linked to behavior regulation. Counterfactuals may enhance performance by either a content-specific pathway (via shift in behavioral intentions) and/or a content-neutral pathway (via mindsets or motivation). Three experiments provided new specification of the content-specific pathway. A sequential priming pa...