Counterfactual Thinking Essay

The see to it of sorrowfulness arguably relies on a multifaceted, conditional analysis of two previously manageable outcomes. An fundamental headland to consider is at what age these contrary to fact emotions civilize, and what enables these responses to occur. forward research proposes that herb of grace emerges at around 4 historic period old, marginally earlier than more recent studies conducted by Guttentag and Ferrell, who call d avow that the induce of wo occurs relatively late in child development. The results of these studies argue that reason, quite an than plainly experiencing counterfactual emotions relies heavily on a childs powerfulness to simultaneously look at alternate realities, and that a recognition of differing outcomes is a necessary, rather than sufficient component of the development of melancholy. These findings accumulate and extend previous research, and demonstrate that the development of counterfactual opinion in children is positive ly correlated with a interwoven cognitive impact of two alternate realities.The experience of grief and relief are counterfactual emotions based on a affinity of reality with a better, alternative situation. conditional emotions are considered to perform important emotional regulatory functions, and carry additional complex cognitive processing than more primary emotions such as anger, fear or happiness. They require us to consider dual possibilities (Byrne, 2002) in which both outcomes were possible at some point in the past. The ability to experience emotions such as regret isbelieved to play an important role in decision-making following the issuing into adulthood. Significant differences however, follow between when children are thought to first experience regret.It is arguable that childrens discernment of regret develops relatively late collectable to the complex nature of non yet shrouding counterfactual persuasion (Guttentag and Ferrell, 2004), which requires an assignment and proportion of two every bit possible, alternate actions. If children are unable to pay off these coincidences, they are unable to experience the emotion of regret. Little research has been make on the cognitive processes behind the outcome of regret in unfledged children, and thus many questions still exist as to why the experience of counterfactual thinking develops relatively late in childhood. Many inconsistencies exist in the theoretical understandings of regret, and subsequently further research is required in locate to oercome these age-related discrepancies.Counterfactual thinking refers to an ability to think just about what could concur been had an alternative decision been made or had the outcome been divers(prenominal) (Roese, 1991). It is within the intriguing paradigm that the ongoing research into the experience of regret takes place. Recent findings stand shed further light into the development of regret during the azoic years of childho od. Beck et al (2006) proposed the theoretical perspective that counterfactual emotions develop relatively late because it requires more complex cognitive processing to conceive two possible outcomes, as opposed to recognizing basic emotions of happiness and sadness. This perspective is widely concur upon, however theories differ in the age at which the emotion of regret actually emerges. Daniel Weisberg (2001) located the emergence of regret at about 4 years, however Guttentag and Ferrell (2004) speculated that it was not until children are 6 or 7 years old that they are able to simultaneously comprehend counterfactual and actual situations. besides research however, has revealed that within the emergence of counterfactual thinking, is a distinction between experiencing and reasoning about regret.The latter involves a reflection on the reasoning behind the emotion, i.e. _why_ does the child feel braggy that he/she picked box A containing nothing, when he/she could have picked b ox B, containing the chocolate. Experiencing regret however, involves a comparisonof reality with a better, alternative outcome. tending(p) that it is a difficult task to simultaneously comprehend two equally plausible realities, it must be even more difficult to understanding the reasoning behind _why_ this feels bad. Interestingly, although Guttentag and Ferrell (2004) located the experience of regret early in childhood, they argued that it wasnt until later in life around 7 years old that a child was able to demonstrate _why_ an alternative reality might affect the emotional reaction to the actual outcome. Guttentag and Ferrell (2004) suggested that children less than 5 or 6 years old cannot generate a comparison between a real and counterfactual reality. According to this perspective, the comparison between two previously possible outcomes is critical. In 2009, Beck and Crilly adapted this theory, and hypothesized that an inability to contrast the two worlds limits childrens thinking about regret. (Beck, & Crilly 2009).Beck, Robinson, Carroll and Apperly (2006) proposed a similar perspective, line of reasoning that it wasnt until children were 5 or 6 years old that counterfactual and actual events were two equally plausible events. Studies conducted following this proposal revealed interchangeable results. Children between the ages of 3 and 6 were asked an open and a closed question regarding the pathway chosen by a toy mouse. Children aged 3 found it difficult to correctly answer the question what if he had done for(p) the other way, where would he be? as opposed to the simpler could he have gone anywhere else? Comparatively, children aged 6 and older performed significantly better, with 85% answering the open question correctly. Beck et al reasoned that regret could not be felt if the child had no understanding of the possibility of a counterfactual reality replacing the actual reality. In 2009, Beck and Crilly replicated these studies, but alterna tively use an open question and a regret question to measuring rod childrens ability to comprehend regret.The results indicated that, contrary to Beck et al, it is in fact not sufficient to simply distinguish two counterfactual possibilities in order for children to recognize regret. The study gave more weight to Guttentag and Ferrells 2004 claim that the comparison of two alternate realities is critical in the development of regret. Beck and Crilly (2009) went on to suggest that perhaps understanding two counterfactual realities was a necessary rather than sufficient developmental goal in the cognitive processing of regret. In 2003, Germanand Nichols proposed that the experience of counterfactual thinking could occur as early as 4 years of age. In their study, a group of 3 year olds were given stories that involved two possible outcomes. When given the invalidating alternative, the children were asked whether the character in the story would feel happy or sad. German and Nichols reported that children answered more than two thirds of the simple counterfactual questions correctly.This data was use to theorize that children as young as 3 could comprehend basic counterfactual realities, and thus indicated the early emergence of regret. Although much discrepancy exists as the to the exact age at which regret begins to emerge, the muckle that counterfactual thinking develops much earlier than previously thought has become widely authentic amongst both cognitive and developmental psychologists. However, evidence exists that contradicts this perspective. Beck et al argue that the studies utilise by German and Nichols contain a number of false positives.Further research has suggested that the supposed counterfactual thinking demonstrated in the 3 year olds tested, could simply be use of the childs customary knowledge, and that the questions used were too simple to reliably indicate an experience of regret. Questions used in the experiment by German and Nichols arguably lead to answers that could be answered using the childs general knowledge, such as recognizing that squeeze flowers make people unhappy, and unsquashed flowers make people happy (Beck, Robison, Carroll, & Apperly 2006). Where German and Nichols may have revealed an emergence of counterfactual thinking may simply have been the childs expression of past experience.The most widely agreed upon theory of regret in childhood appears to be ability to not only distinguish two previously possible realities, but to as well as compare them in order to come to an emotional understanding. Theorists including Guttentag and Ferrell (2004), and Beck and Crilly (2009) argue that a distinction must be made between simply experiencing a counterfactual emotion, and understanding _why_ someone may feel unhappy when analyze the actual reality with a counterfactual world. This theory is based on the premise that counterfactual thinking is a complex cognitive process, requiring a multifaceted understanding of two dual possibilities.Research on counterfactual thinking in childhood also suggests children mayexperience regret as early as 4 years old, however this view has generated much criticism and requires further research in order to regularisation out experimental limitations, such as small research groups and over generalized questions. Future research may focus on overcoming these limitations in order to generate reliable data. Compiling the findings from these and future studies will enable researchers to form a much clearer of picture of exactly when children not only experience, but also understand the emotion of regret, and what cognitive processes underpin this development. In conclusion, research examining childrens regret has focused on the criticality of the upshot children begin to comprehend two dual realities, and feel remorse aft(prenominal) choosing one outcome over another. Current studies lend weight to the complex nature of the role of cognition in emotional experiences, and this data, taken in conjunction with earlier studies, suggests a number of age-related stepping stones are implicated in the development of counterfactual thinking.REFERENCE LISTBeck, R. S., & Crilly, M. (2009) Is understanding regret pendant on developments in counterfactual thinking? _British Journal of Developmental Psychology_. 27, 505-510.Beck, R. S., Riggs, J. K., & Burns, P. (2001) duplex developments in counterfactual thinking. _Understanding Counterfactuals, Understanding Causation_. 2-21.Beck, S. R., Riggs, J. K., & Gorniak, L. S. 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