| Improving the Past and the Future: A Temporal Asymmetry in Hypothetical Thinking. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 22468671 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Current views of hypothetical thinking implicitly assume that the content of imaginary thoughts about the past and future should be the same. Two experiments show that, given the same experienced facts of reality, future imagination may differ from past reconstruction. When participants failed a task, their counterfactual thoughts focused on uncontrollable features of their attempt (e.g., "Things would have been better if the allocated time were longer/if I had better logic skills"). But their prefactual thoughts focused on controllable features of their ensuing endeavor (e.g., "Things will be better next time if I concentrate more/if I use another strategy"). This finding suggests that compared with prefactual thinking, counterfactual thinking may be less subject to reality checks and less likely to serve preparatory goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved). |
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Authors:
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Donatella Ferrante; Vittorio Girotto; Marta Stragà; Clare Walsh |
Publication Detail:
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Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2012-4-2 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of experimental psychology. General Volume: - ISSN: 1939-2222 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2012 Apr |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2012-4-3 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 7502587 Medline TA: J Exp Psychol Gen Country: - |
Other Details:
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Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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