Counterfactual thinking: what it is and how it is expressed

Do you know what counterfactual thinking is? And what do you know about prefactual thinking? On the one hand, both concepts are related, and on the other, they are actions that are closely related to our personality.

counterfactual thinking consists of the mental simulation of different alternatives that could have occurred in the past and finally did not were, whereas prefactual thinking is the simulation of potential alternatives to a situation of the future.

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What is counterfactual thinking?

As we have already introduced, counterfactual thinking consists of the mental simulation of different alternatives that could have occurred in the past, but that ultimately did not take place. For example, imagine the places where you could have worked in the art world that was your passion, if you had not finally chosen to go into finance.

We have mentioned that, on the other hand, prefactual thinking consists of

the mental simulation of potential alternatives to the same situation, but which have not taken place. For example, going to an anniversary party with the family and imagining all the possible scenarios regarding the guests that come or not, the food that is there, the gifts, etc.

In this article we are going to talk about the characteristics that surround counterfactual thinking, prefactual thinking, and finally a little about its relationship with the different personality traits that can be and can be developed by the human being.

Counterfactual thinking, prefactual thinking and personality

It is logical to think that the type of thoughts that we develop most frequently in our head may depend on the type of personality we have. In turn, these thoughts can generate a series of emotions and sensations.

In the article Looking Behind and Looking Ahead: Personality Differences in Counterfactual and Prefactual Thinking recently published in the magazine Imagination, Cognition and Personality, talks about the relationship between these two types of thoughts and personality traits, and what emotions can be generated from these thoughts.

The article puts counterfactual thinking and prefactual thinking in the context of the different parameters or personality traits, the so-called "Big Five Personality traits".

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The Big Five Personality Traits

The big five personality traits, commonly known in English as Big Five Personality traits, are the five elements or personality traits from which personality is studied in Yeah.

This concept of the Big Five was postulated by the British psychologist Raymond Bernard Cattell. (England, March 20, 1905 - USA, February 2, 1998), whose works focused on the study of intelligence and personality.

These traits are also known as the 'dimensions' of personality. These five factors are the following: factor O (linked to the ability to open up to new experiences), factor C (linked to responsibility), factor E (referring to extroversion), factor A (in terms of kindness) and finally factor N (related to neuroticism or instability emotional). Putting all the factors together, we get the acronym “OCEAN”.

On the other hand, these traits are not pure, but in turn, each of them is made up of a set of more specific personality traits.

For example, factor A (linked to kindness), in itself includes respect, tolerance and tranquility, factor C (related to the sense of responsibility), constitutes in turn discipline, organization, and the ability to concentrate, and the factor N (related to neuroticism and emotional instability) includes features of obsession, insecurity, anxiety, restlessness, among others.

What relationship do these types of thinking have with personality?

Thus, the article in the magazine Imagination, Cognition and Personality, highlights the relationship between counterfactual thinking and prefactual thinking, and the five personality traits, and shows how people differ in their way of thinking depending on which personality traits they have more exacerbated.

The study showed that counterfactual thinking It is more common in people with a high degree of neuroticism (N factor) and low agreeableness (factor A).

That is, these types of more sociable people have a greater tendency to imagine the possibilities of things that could have happened and yet did not happen. In addition, these people are usually people who focus their attention on avoiding possible threats, so they analyze situations from the past a lot.

On the contrary, the study has shown that prefactual thinking is more frequent in people with a less neurotic tendency, greater kindness and greater extroversion.

That is, the less neurotic people and with greater social aptitudes, tend to think more about potential alternatives to future situations that have yet to happen.

relevant data

In addition, it has been shown that regret for actions carried out in the past can give rise to what have been called hot emotions, which are emotions of anger, frustration and shame.

Interestingly, it has also been shown that those people with a greater tendency to lie tend to generate more counterfactual thoughts. This is because some forms of lying require the imagination of an alternative to past events.

This information supports the idea that negative emotions are closely related to the fact of 'living' in the past and not moving forward and positive emotions are more linked to the future (future goals, dreams, options potentials…).

The thought-bound personality

We have seen how counterfactual thinking is related to personality, and by extension, how personality (which encompasses emotions, feelings, abilities, skills, limitations, character, etc.) is closely linked to the type of thought that we develop.

This thinking may be more focused on the past and obsolete possibilities, or it may be more focused on the future and its potential alternatives.

In any case, it must not be forgotten that personality is not a solid and pure plank, but that it is about a ladder of shades where we can possess different traits in different amounts, and that therefore, throughout life, we will have ideas of the counterfactual thinking type and we will have ideas of the prefactual thinking type.

Bibliographic references:

• Bacon, A.M., Clare R. Walsh, Raluca A. Briazu (2020). Looking Behind and Looking Ahead: Personality Differences in Counterfactual and Prefactual Thinking. Imagination, Cognition and Personality journal. USES.
• Bacon, a. M., ClareR. Walsh., Martin, L. (2013). Fantasy proneness and counterfactual thinking. Personality & Individual Differences (Journal). Elsevier.
• Boele de Raad (2000). The Big Five Personality Factors: The Psycholexical Approach to Personality. Hogrefe and Huber Publishers. Toronto.
• Charles G. Morris, Albert A. Maisto (2001). Introduction to Psychology. Pearson Education, Tenth Edition.