Why do I think and talk about it? Perceived functions and phenomenology of episodic counterfactual thinking compared with remembering and future thinking

被引:13
作者
Ozbek, Muge [1 ]
Bohn, Annette [1 ]
Berntsen, Dorthe [1 ]
机构
[1] Aarhus Univ, Ctr Autobiog Memory Res CON AMORE, Dept Psychol & Behav Sci, Sch Business & Social Sci, Bartholins Alle 9, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
基金
新加坡国家研究基金会;
关键词
Episodic counterfactual thinking; episodic memory; episodic future thinking; function; phenomenology; AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY; POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS; SELF-ENHANCEMENT; REMINISCENCE FUNCTIONS; SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE; EMOTIONAL VALENCE; POSSIBLE SELVES; LIFE; TIME; IDENTITY;
D O I
10.1177/1747021817738731
中图分类号
B84 [心理学];
学科分类号
04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
People revisit situations from their past and imagine what could have happened had the situation played out differently. This form of hypothetical thinking is known as episodic counterfactual thinking. The reasons why people engage in episodic counterfactual thinking have not been examined in the same context with remembering the past and imagining the future. We addressed this gap, by focusing on the perceived functions and phenomenological characteristics of the most important episodic counterfactuals compared with episodic memories and future projections in younger adults. We base our analyses on four categories of functions previously identified for past events: reflective, social, generative, and ruminative. The reflective and social functions dominated across all events, with the reflective function being most pronounced for future projections, potentially suggesting a close connection between future projections and self-regulation and/or identity formation. Counter to predictions, the ruminative function was not rated higher for episodic counterfactuals than for other events; however, ratings of ruminative function showed unique correlations with the emotional intensity and involuntary remembering for episodic counterfactuals. Overall, these results suggest that episodic counterfactuals are used for self-reflection and social sharing more than they are used for rumination and generative concerns.
引用
收藏
页码:2101 / 2114
页数:14
相关论文
共 72 条
[1]   Self-enhancement and self-protection: What they are and what they do [J].
Alicke, Mark D. ;
Sedikides, Constantine .
EUROPEAN REVIEW OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, 2009, 20 :1-48
[2]   The centrality of event scale: A measure of integrating a trauma into one's identity and its relation to post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms [J].
Berntsen, D ;
Rubin, DC .
BEHAVIOUR RESEARCH AND THERAPY, 2006, 44 (02) :219-231
[3]   Cultural life scripts structure recall from autobiographical memory [J].
Berntsen, D ;
Rubin, DC .
MEMORY & COGNITION, 2004, 32 (03) :427-442
[4]   Emotionally charged autobiographical memories across the life span: The recall of happy, sad, traumatic, and involuntary memories [J].
Berntsen, D ;
Rubin, DC .
PSYCHOLOGY AND AGING, 2002, 17 (04) :636-652
[5]  
Berntsen D, 2010, MEM COGNITION, V38, P265, DOI 10.3758/MC.38.3.265
[6]  
Blix I, 2016, APPL COGNITIVE PSYCH, V30, P983, DOI 10.1002/acp.3289
[7]   A tale of three functions: The self-reported uses of autobiographical memory [J].
Bluck, S ;
Alea, N ;
Habermas, T ;
Rubin, DC .
SOCIAL COGNITION, 2005, 23 (01) :91-117
[8]   Crafting the TALE: Construction of a measure to assess the functions of autobiographical remembering [J].
Bluck, Susan ;
Alea, Nicole .
MEMORY, 2011, 19 (05) :470-486
[9]   Don't Look Back in Anger! Responsiveness to Missed Chances in Successful and Nonsuccessful Aging [J].
Brassen, Stefanie ;
Gamer, Matthias ;
Peters, Jan ;
Gluth, Sebastian ;
Buechel, Christian .
SCIENCE, 2012, 336 (6081) :612-614
[10]   Counterfactual Thought [J].
Byrne, Ruth M. J. .
ANNUAL REVIEW OF PSYCHOLOGY, VOL 67, 2016, 67 :135-157