Niedenthal, P. M., Tangney, J. P., & Gavanski, I. (1994). “If only I weren& #39;t” versus “If only I hadn& #39;t”: Distinguishing shame and guilt in conterfactual thinking.
Examined the role of counterfactual thinking in 2 emotions: shame and guilt. In 1 series of studies, Ss read about situations evocative of shame and guilt or described personal experiences of guilt or shame. They then generated counterfactual alternatives to "undo" the distressing outcomes. Consistent with predictions derived from J. P. Tangney (see record 1992-05447-001), Ss tended to undo shame situations by altering qualities of ...