The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
People spontaneously create counterfactual alternatives to reality when they think "if only" or "what if" and imagine how the past could have been different. The mind computes counterfactuals for many reasons. Counterfactuals explain the past and prepare for the future, they implicate various relations including causal ones, and they affect intentions and decisions. They modulate emotions such as regret and relief, and they support moral judgments such as blame. The ability to create counterfactuals develops throughout childhood and contributes to reasoning about other people's beliefs, including their false beliefs.
- Counterfactuals help people to prepare for the future by understanding intentions and making decisions.
- People create counterfactual alternatives to reality for various reasons, including reasoning about other people's beliefs.
- Counterfactual alternatives to reality are created for a variety of reasons and is part of one's developmental process.
- Counterfactual thinking helps to reverse past and future actions and reason out false beliefs.