{"id":56730,"date":"2021-12-24T00:07:22","date_gmt":"2021-12-24T04:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=56730"},"modified":"2021-12-29T13:06:50","modified_gmt":"2021-12-29T17:06:50","slug":"what-are-counterfactuals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-are-counterfactuals\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Counterfactuals\u2014and How Do They Hurt You?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What are counterfactuals? What’s the difference between an upward and a downward counterfactual? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Counterfactuals are the hypothetical situations you imagine\u2014such as wondering what life would be like if you had taken that other job. Counterfactuals can go both ways. Upward counterfactuals are when you imagine how things could be better, and downward counterfactuals are when you think of how things could be worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about counterfactuals and how they affect mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Upward and Downward Counterfactuals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Schwartz writes that, to make matters worse, we have the ability to imagine scenarios\u2014called counterfactuals\u2014that prompt regret<\/strong>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what are counterfactuals? Counterfactuals are hypothetical situations we imagine. For example, we envision how past events might have gone differently, or what our lives would be like had we made different choices. These hypothetical scenarios can make us regret the choices that led to our current circumstances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schwartz writes that we typically imagine counterfactual scenarios when something makes us unhappy. For instance, you could be generally satisfied with your life, but every day you get stuck in traffic on your commute to work. One morning, in particularly bad bumper-to-bumper traffic, you imagine life without this inconvenience. Then you start to regret your life as a whole\u2014if you\u2019d chosen a different career in a different city, you wouldn\u2019t have such a frustrating commute. Imagining how things could be better is an upward<\/em> counterfactual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: A 2017 study showed a correlation between upward counterfactuals and depression<\/a>. It\u2019s unclear whether depression causes people to think of upward counterfactuals or vice versa, but this data backs up Schwart\u2019s idea that frequent counterfactual thinking leads to unhappiness and regret.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, Schwartz explains that imagining how we could be worse off\u2014a downward<\/em> counterfactual\u2014can be positive because these counterfactuals can make us feel grateful for our lives and the choices we\u2019ve made. After all, we could have chosen much worse. We don\u2019t naturally imagine downward counterfactuals (or look on the bright side), so Schwartz advises people struggling with regret to make a point of doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, imagine a college student who studied hard for a calculus exam and got a C+. Although she\u2019d hoped to do better, she could choose to imagine a downward counterfactual: She might not have studied at all and failed. Imagining a worse outcome makes her feel better about her C+.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Downward Counterfactuals and Procrastination<\/strong>

While Schwartz writes that most people don\u2019t naturally imagine downward counterfactuals, some are inclined to do so\u2014namely, procrastinators. The tendency to imagine downward counterfactuals is associated with the tendency to procrastinate<\/a>. 

A study indicated that, when presented with scenarios that can cause anxiety, like seeking medical care, participants with a tendency to procrastinate<\/a> generated numerous downward counterfactuals and relatively few upward counterfactuals. For instance, they imagined the ways in which their health could be worse, reducing their sense of urgency about seeking medical care. This seems to be linked to procrastination because imagining downward counterfactuals takes the pressure off making tough decisions\u2014since things aren\u2019t so bad now, you don\u2019t need to make a decision<\/a> right away.

Procrastination is related to difficulties in decision-making<\/a>, since challenging choices can trigger stress, leading some to put off making the choice indefinitely. People who regularly imagine downward counterfactuals, then, may be people who already have some difficulty making choices. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What are counterfactuals? What’s the difference between an upward and a downward counterfactual? Counterfactuals are the hypothetical situations you imagine\u2014such as wondering what life would be like if you had taken that other job. Counterfactuals can go both ways. Upward counterfactuals are when you imagine how things could be better, and downward counterfactuals are when you think of how things could be worse. Learn more about counterfactuals and how they affect mental health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":56809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,9,43],"tags":[552],"class_list":["post-56730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","tag-the-paradox-of-choice","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Are Counterfactuals\u2014and How Do They Hurt You? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Counterfactuals are the hypothetical scenarios we create\u2014imagining how things could've been different in life. 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