COUNTERFACTUAL THINKING AND THE PERCEPTION OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

The present research investigated the effects of counterfactual thinki ng on the interpretation of criminal behaviour. It was predicted that the availability of counterfactual alternatives for a crime would affe ct a range of incident-related judgements. The results of two studies strongly supported this prediction. When counterfactual alternatives t o an outcome were readily available, subjects: (i) punished the perpet rators more severely; (ii) considered the incident to be more serious; and (iii) felt greater sympathy toward the victims. In addition, the results confirmed earlier research in this domain and demonstrated tha t counterfactual effects on judgemental processes are mediated by subj ects' affective reaction towards events. The wider implications of the se findings and their potential implications for judicial decision mak ing are considered.