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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 10, 1413-1424 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167205276064
© 2005 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Looking on the Bright Side: Downward Counterfactual Thinking in Response to Negative Life Events

Katherine White

University of Calgary, kate.white{at}haskayne.ucalgary.ca

Darrin R. Lehman

University of British Columbia

Past research has found that downward counterfactual thoughts are rarely generated in response to negative life events. However, the authors suggest that under conditions in which self-enhancement motives are prominent, downward counterfactuals will be more frequent than upward counterfactuals. When motives were explicitly manipulated (Study 1), people generated more downward counterfactuals in the self-enhancement than in the self-improvement and control conditions. In Study 2, among those chronically more motivated to self-enhance (i.e., European Canadians), a manipulation of event severity led to the generation of more downward than upward counterfactuals. This finding was mediated by the desire for self-enhancement. In Study 3, cultural background and the opportunity for self-affirmation were related to the generation of downward counterfactuals in expected ways. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Key Words: counterfactual thinking • self-enhancement • culture • coping


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