Poster #18 - Constructing One's Reality: Perceived Control and Counterfactual Thinking in a Post-Truth Era

• In Event: 75.043 - MTCC Poster Session 17
  In Poster Session: 75.043-5 - Epistemic and Generative Interventions Promoting Learning Outcomes

Abstract

In a “post-truth” era, decision-making is often guided by emotional appeal and personal belief rather than objective facts. As a result, researchers have begun to examine how individual differences in attribution influence those processes. Previous research has demonstrated that people are predisposed to feelings of control over their environment and engage in internal control strategies when feelings of threat arise. Similarly, a common response to adverse situations is counterfactual thinking (i.e., thinking about how reality might differ if alternative decisions were made). As a result, this study examined the relationship between internal control strategies and counterfactual thinking. Results indicate that perceived control of the attribution process predicted counterfactual thinking. Details and implications are discussed.

Authors

• Michael McCreery, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Catherine Bacos, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• P.G. Schrader, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Danielle Head, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Joseph Fiorentini, Clark County School District

• Mark Carroll, University of Nevada - Las Vegas