“But what if…?”

Published by Clara Scheutz on

Have you ever just barely missed that A on a test? If yes, then you certainly know the uncomfortable feeling of wondering what you could have done differently to achieve your desired result. Personally, this situation has arisen multiple times throughout my education and never fails to make me feel terrible. I find myself drowning in thoughts like, “What if I hadn’t double-checked my answers? Then I probably wouldn’t have second guessed myself on that one question”, or “What if I would’ve given my study guide one more look-over before taking the exam? I probably would have remembered that one fact.”

Why is it so difficult to cope with these types of “so-close” situations?

Well, for one, social psychology tells us that the easier it is to mentally undo a situation, the stronger the emotional response. This process is known as counterfactual reasoning and occurs more often than one may think. While counterfactual reasoning is considered to be “conscious and effortful”, it isn’t always “intentional and voluntary”. This means that counterfactual thinking can have unintended consequences if one engages in excessive “what if” thinking. Most problematic is when this “what if” thinking perpetuates negative thought cycles that cause us to dwell on past events over which we have no control. Life is full of these types of situations in which outcomes can be mentally reversed, and as someone who struggles with OCD and academic perfectionism, the idea of excessive counterfactual reasoning resonated deeply with me. As a result, I grew interested in thinking about ways to counter this so-called counterfactual reasoning.

First, as with many other concepts related to social psychology, comes awareness. Being aware of our human tendencies is extremely useful in trying to deconstruct them, which is why courses in social psychology are meaningful and relevant. Following awareness, it is valuable to develop mental strategies in order to cope with difficult situations like these for which little to nothing can be done to change the outcome. Moving forward, I would suggest further experimentation of counterfactual reasoning and the way in which it influences people with anxiety conditions. Deepening our understanding of the dangers of these “what if” thoughts is an important first step in learning how to combat obsessive thought patterns.


Categories: Module 2

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