The Psychology of Counterfactual Thinking

This book provides a critical overview of significant developments in research and theory on counterfactual thinking that have emerged in recent years and spotlights exciting new directions for future research in this area. Key issues considered include the relations between counterfactual and casual reasoning, the functional bases of counterfactual thinking, the role of counterfactual thinking in the experience of emotion and the importance of counterfactual thinking in the context of crime and justice.

David R. Mandel is a Defence Scientist with the Department of National Defence in Canada. His areas of research expertise include thinking and reasoning, judgment and decision making, and social cognition.

Denis J. Hilton is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Toulouse-II. His research interests include social cognition, reasoning, judgment, and experimental economics.

Patrizia Catellani is Full Professor of Social Psychology at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy. Her research is focused on the area of cognitive social psychology, with a particular emphasis on applications to the political and judicial contexts.