By Simran Sodha
For the gold medalist, the feeling is triumph. For the bronze medalist, it is relief. For the silver medalist, it is regret.
Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University, studied event footage, interviews, and award ceremonies, to examine the facial expressions of every medalist at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. He later had 20 college students uninterested in the Olympic Games and unaware of who won bronze or silver evaluate the athletes’ reactions. Participants in the study found that the bronze medalists appeared happier than those who won silver.
Brian Synder/Reuters
They compare themselves to the gold medalist and thereby think of what they didn’t achieve; the bronze medalists also focus on what didn’t happen: They didn’t come in fourth and fail to get a medal.”
Although one would assume an athlete would be more pleased with second place over third, this is not always the case and can be explained by the phenomenon, counterfactual thinking. When something significant happens, people have a natural tendency to think about the alternative circumstances, in an attempt to put their reality in context. Thoughts about what your present situation might or could have been are called counterfactual thoughts and are often better or worse than actuality. Upward counterfactuals are better alternatives, whereas downward counterfactuals are worse alternatives.
Silver medalists tend to use an upward counterfactual, comparing themselves with the gold medalists and focusing on “I almost.” This triggers a feeling of regret as they reflect on what they could and should have done instead to win the gold. The downward counterfactual is seen with the bronze medalists, as they compare themselves with those who did not win a medal, making them excited to even be standing on the podium. They think, “At least I...” Although the silver medalists should be filled with thrill and fulfillment, their counterfactual thinking can ruin this accomplishment for them.
Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky are two renowned psychologists who also conducted a study that examines this concept by asking volunteers to read a story about a plane crash survivor who walked in the wild for days and eventually died before reaching civilization. The volunteers then had to share how much compensation the victim’s family should receive. Participants who read a version where the survivor collapsed 400 metres from safety had granted more compensation than those who read that the survivor died 120 kilometres from safety. Although both situations had the same outcome, people viewed the first scenario as more devastating because the person was closer to safety and therefore felt the outcome was more tragic. People use an upward counterfactual by comparing the situation with a better outcome, like the survivor reaching safety. This comparison makes the scenario seem even more tragic because the person was so close to a better ending. This counterfactual thinking provokes stronger emotional reactions and influences the participants’ judgment. This indicates the power of upward counterfactuals and the profound influence counterfactual thinking has on decision making.
The concept of counterfactual thinking goes beyond sports or studies and is therefore prevalent in many aspects of life. For example, when an employee receives a performance rating, they likely consider the other possibilities and compare their evaluation with what could have been. Using a downward counterfactual would cause them to compare their performance with something more negative, making them feel satisfied with their current results. However, if they use an upward counterfactual and compare themselves to a co-worker who received a perfect evaluation, they may be disappointed and disregard all the positive feedback they were given.
Some believe the best way to conquer upward counterfactuals is by lowering your expectations, yet expectations motivate individuals. Athletes expect that they have a chance of winning a gold medal, and this belief motivates them to train harder and turn their expectations into reality. This mindset can be overcome by focusing on the process and celebrating it, regardless of the outcome. Instead of dwelling over what we do not have or wish we had, we should concentrate on appreciating our achievements and the things we take for granted.
Works Cited
Epstude, Kai, and Neal J Roese. “The Functional Theory of Counterfactual Thinking.” Personality and Social Psychology Review : An Official Journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc, U.S. National Library of Medicine, May 2008, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2408534/#:~:text=Thinking%20about%20what%20might%20have,2005%3B%20Roese%2C%201997).
Goldman, Jason G. “Why Bronze Medalists Are Happier than Silver Winners.” Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2024, www.scientificamerican.com/blog/thoughtful-animal/why-bronze-medalists-are-happier-than-silver-winners/.
Howard, Jacqueline. “Why Winning Bronze Feels Better than Silver.” CNN, Cable News Network, 18 Aug. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/08/18/health/bronze-medal-psychology-olympics/index.html.
Stafford, Tom. “Olympics: Why Winning a Bronze Medal Beats Silver.” BBC News, BBC, 24 Feb. 2022, www.bbc.com/future/article/20120810-olympic-lessons-in-regret.
TodayShow. “Why Winning a Silver Olympic Medal Can Feel Worse than Getting Bronze.” TODAY.Com, TODAY, 28 July 2021, www.today.com/health/why-winning-silver-olympic-medal-can-feel-worse-getting-bronze-t226239.
Why Do so Many Olympic Bronze Medalists Seem Happier ..., www.inc.com/jeff-haden/why-do-so-many-olympic-bronze-medalists-seem-happier-than-silver-medalists-blame-upward-counterfactuals.html.