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Hyeman, Choi 05-02-16_accepted.pdf (695.58 KB)

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Imagining What Might Have Been: The Meaning-Confirmation and Meaning-Seeking Functions of Counterfactual Reflection

Choi, Hyeman
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1462188318

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Experimental Psychology (Arts and Sciences).
The present work investigates how counterfactual reflection (i.e., thoughts of what might have been) maintains and enhances perceptions that life is imbued with meaning. Specifically, the current research examines whether certain types of counterfactual reflection (i.e., additive versus subtractive counterfactual thinking) serve different functions for meaning maintenance (i.e., meaning-confirmation and meaning-seeking). It was hypothesized that people would be more likely to generate subtractive counterfactuals (i.e., mentally subtracting actions committed) under meaning-confirmation motivation (i.e., motivation to confirm one’s sense of meaning) because subtractive counterfactuals help individuals perceive coherence and significance in their lives by illuminating connections between past actions and current life and heightening a comparison standard that is worse than reality (i.e., imagining worse outcomes). It was also hypothesized that people would be more likely to generate additive counterfactuals (mentally adding actions omitted) under meaning-seeking motivation (i.e., motivation to find additional source of meaning) because additive counterfactuals facilitate the identification of possible pathways to achieve a desired outcome and experience a significance in life. In Study 1, participants who were motivated to prepare for the future generated more additive counterfactuals, whereas participants who were motivated to understand the past generated more subtractive counterfactuals. Consistently, Study 2 showed that high levels of meaning-seeking motivation facilitated increased generation of additive counterfactuals. However, the manipulation of event repeatability in Study 2 failed to elicit different levels of meaning-confirmation and meaning-seeking motivations. Finally, Study 3 showed that participants were more likely to engage in subtractive (versus additive) counterfactuals when contemplating meaningful life events. Meaningless life events, conversely, elicited greater additive (versus subtractive) counterfactuals. Together, these findings suggest that people use subtractive counterfactuals to confirm a sense of meaning in life, while additive counterfactuals facilitate a search for meaning in life with potential experiences.
Keith Markman (Advisor)
Mark Alicke (Committee Member)
Kimberly Rios (Committee Member)
Jennifer Howell (Committee Member)
Noh Mijeong (Committee Member)
85 p.
Psychology; Social Psychology
Meaning; Future Opportunity; Meaning-Confirmation; Meaning-Seeking; Counterfactual Thinking; Actions and Inactions

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Choi, H. (2016). Imagining What Might Have Been: The Meaning-Confirmation and Meaning-Seeking Functions of Counterfactual Reflection [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1462188318

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Choi, Hyeman. Imagining What Might Have Been: The Meaning-Confirmation and Meaning-Seeking Functions of Counterfactual Reflection. 2016. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1462188318.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Choi, Hyeman. "Imagining What Might Have Been: The Meaning-Confirmation and Meaning-Seeking Functions of Counterfactual Reflection." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1462188318

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1462188318
341
© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.