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{
    "pk": 49817,
    "title": "What Almost Happened? Using Close-Counterfactuals to Prime a Simulation Mindset in Children",
    "subtitle": null,
    "abstract": "Counterfactual reasoning, the ability to reason about how events could have turned out differently, helps individuals understand the causes of events and prepare for the future. The simulation mindset hypothesis posits that exposure to counterfactual scenarios stimulates the generation of imaginary alternatives, enhancing planning, problem-solving, and behaviour adjustment. This study investigated whether  close-counterfactual scenarios prime a simulation mindset in children leading to better problem-solving abilities. Ninety six- and eight-year-olds were assigned to either a counterfactual condition, with storybooks featuring close-counterfactual events, or a control condition, with storybooks describing factual events. Participants then completed two problem-solving tasks requiring the generation of alternative solutions. Results showed that 8-year-olds exhibited better problem-solving abilities than 6-year-olds. Counterfactual scenarios did not significantly affect older children's problem-solving skills, however they showed benefits for the younger children. These findings provide emerging evidence that engaging in counterfactual reasoning can enhance divergent thinking and problem-solving skills in children.",
    "language": "eng",
    "license": {
        "name": "",
        "short_name": "",
        "text": null,
        "url": ""
    },
    "keywords": [
        {
            "word": "Psychology; Cognitive development; Decision making; Problem Solving; Reasoning"
        }
    ],
    "section": "Papers with Poster Presentation",
    "is_remote": true,
    "remote_url": "https://escholarship.org/uc/item/10m5b57v",
    "frozenauthors": [
        {
            "first_name": "Julianna",
            "middle_name": "",
            "last_name": "Lu",
            "name_suffix": "",
            "institution": "University of Toronto",
            "department": ""
        },
        {
            "first_name": "Patricia",
            "middle_name": "",
            "last_name": "Ganea",
            "name_suffix": "",
            "institution": "University of Toronto",
            "department": ""
        }
    ],
    "date_submitted": null,
    "date_accepted": null,
    "date_published": "2025-01-01T10:00:00-08:00",
    "render_galley": null,
    "galleys": [
        {
            "label": "PDF",
            "type": "pdf",
            "path": "https://journalpub.escholarship.org/cognitivesciencesociety/article/49817/galley/37779/download/"
        }
    ]
}