“If only I had” versus “If only I had not”: Mental deletions, mental additions, and perceptions of meaning in life events

Abstract

The present research investigated the relationship between meaning perceptions and the structure of counterfactual thoughts. In Study 1, participants reflected on how turning points in their lives could have turned out otherwise. Those who were instructed to engage in subtractive (e.g. If only I had not done X. . .") counterfactual thinking (SCT) about those turning points subsequently reported higher meaning perceptions than did those who engaged in additive (e.g. 'If only I had done X. . .') counterfactual thinking (ACT). In Study 2, participants who reflected upon life events from the perspective of understanding the past (versus preparing for the future) tended to engage in more SCT than ACT. Finally, in Study 3, participants engaged in more SCT than ACT about life events whose meaning was perceived as certain (as opposed to uncertain)presumably to maintain their pre-existing sense of meaning. Implications for the study of counterfactual thinking and meaning are discussed.

Looking Behind and Looking Ahead: Personality Differences in Counterfactual and Prefactual Thinking

“…It is likely that such an association would be observed were we to study the overlapping content of counterfactual and prefactual thoughts and whether the Big Five traits mediate the relationship. The content of counterfactuals has been found to vary between focus on past and future, for instance Choi and Markman (2018) showed that reflection on events from the perspective of understanding the past (versus preparing for the future) tended to elicit more subtractive CFT (I wish I had not…) than additive CFT (I wish I had…). These trends might also vary between individuals as a function of personality traits.…”