-
Psychologists who have studied counterfactual thinking extensively
前nthat most individuals do not often engagc in thiS PTOCCSS
Spontaneousjy。 We don'tsit around, with sipping our morning coffee。
and ask irelvee what our lives would have been like if we'd been
born in South Africa rather than the U.S.、or if the earth's orbit had
been juSt a feW (housand miles closeto the su Instead, counterfactual
に8 (27
中inking iS usually triggered by the occurrence of something unpleasant,
Somethingvha if produces a negative emotion。 Counterfactual thoughts
ーー ーー
He generated in response to avoid experiences such as poor exam
romantie relationships, and the jness or death of
thoughts be
mn to occur, they
Trigger maore negative emotions, like regret, which in turn trigger
mmOre counterfactual thinking, but which in turn triggers more negative
emotions。 Though most people can manage to SuDDreSs their
6
ierfactual fhoughts before they don't spin too far down this
spiral。some一 especially those who suffer from clinical
mot be able to arrest the downward