AFFECTIVE DETERMINANTS OF COUNTERFACTUAL THINKING

Two experiments suggested differential determinants of the activation versus content of counterfactual thinking. Activation refers to whethe r counterfactuals consciously come to mind and was assessed by thought -listing and response-latency measures. Content refers to which antece dent forms the basis of the counterfactual and was assessed using cate gorical codings of thought-listings. Counterfactual activation was fac ilitated by negative as opposed to positive outcomes, and this effect was mediated by affective experience. Expectancy violation did not inf luence counterfactual activation. Normality (whether an outcome was pr eceded by exceptional versus normal events) had no effect on activatio n, but it did influence content in such a way that counterfactuals mor e often mutated exceptional than normal antecedents. These findings ar e consistent with a functionalist depiction of counterfactual thinking .