When asked to predict their emotional reaction to being injured in a car accident, most people know that they would be upset but tend to overestimate for how long they would be upset. Research suggests that this error may occur because ____.

A) when imagining their reaction, people focus too much attention on the possible injury and do not consider other (happy) events that are likely to happen in their lives
B) bad events are stronger than good events
C) of the affect-as-information hypothesis
D) people do not take catharsis into account

Question

Karina Marie Gonzalez · Accepted Answer

Final Answer : A, Explanation :  When imagining their reaction to a negative event like a car accident, people tend to focus excessively on the event itself and its immediate aftermath, neglecting the possibility of positive events that could also occur and mitigate their distress over time. This leads to an overestimation of the duration of their upset feelings.

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