The present research investigated the effects of counterfactual thinking on subjects' accident-related judgments. It was predicted that the availability of counterfactual alternatives for an accident would result in differential evaluation of incident-related victims and perpetrators. The results of two studies strongly supported this prediction. Specifically, subjects awarded more financial compensation to the victim of an accident when it was preceded by exceptional rather than routine circumstances. Similarly, under these conditions the accident perpetrators were deemed to be more negligent in their behavior and a harsher fine was leveled against them.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Gleicher, F. , Kost, K. A., Baker, S. M., Strathman, A. J., Richman, S. A., & Sherman, S. J. (1990). The role of counterfactual thinking in judgments of affect. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16, 284-295.
2.
Johnson, J. T. (1986). The knowledge of what might have been: Affective and attributional consequences of near outcomes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 12, 51-62.
3.
Kahneman, D. , & Miller, D. T. (1986). Norm theory: Comparing reality to its alternatives. Psychological Review93, 136-153.
4.
Kahneman, D. , & Tversky, A. (1982). The simulation heuristic. In D. Kahneman, P. Slovic, & A. Tversky (Eds.), Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases (pp. 201-208). New York: Cambridge University Press.
5.
Landman, J. (1988). Regret and elation following action and inaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin13, 524-536.
6.
Macrae, C. N. , & Milne, A. B. (1991). Counterfactual thinking and the perception of criminal behavior. Manuscript submitted for publication.
7.
Miller, D. T. , & Gunasegarami, S. (1990). Temporal order and the perceived mutability of events: Implications for blame assignment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1111-1118.
8.
Miller, D. T. , & McFarland, C. (1986). Counterfactual thinking and victim compensation: A test of norm theory. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin12, 513-519.
9.
Miller, D. T. , Turnball, W., & McFarland, C. (1990). Counterfactual thinking and social perception: Thinking about what might have been. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 23, pp. 305-331). Orlando, F1Academic Press.
10.
Wells, G. L. , & Gavanski, I. (1989). Mental simulation of causality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 161-169.
11.
Wells, G. L. , Taylor, B. R., & Turtle, J. W. (1987). The undoing of scenarios. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 421-430.
