Studies assessing the phenomenological characteristics of episodic memories, episodic future thoughts, and episodic counterfactual thoughts normally utilize a within-subjects design. As such, there are concerns that the observed similarities in phenomenological characteristics are the result of demand effects or other related matters, rather than theoretical considerations. In this study, a within-subjects experimental design was directly compared with a between-subjects experimental design. In both conditions, participants responded to existing questionnaires used to assess phenomenological characteristics of episodic memories, episodic future thoughts, and episodic counterfactual thoughts. The within-subjects design resulted more often in significant findings and larger effect sizes compared to the between-subjects design. The implications for experimental design in future studies is discussed.

Undergraduate psychology students struggle to think critically, are hesitant to endorse psychology as a scientific field, and believe scientifically disproven psychological myths. We asked if a semester-long laboratory component (small weekly recitation groups), embedded within a large introductory psychology course, could improve students' critical thinking, perceptions of psychology as a science, and ability to identify psychological myths. In the recitation groups (N ϭ 124), students researched a topic, designed a study, collected data, and presented findings. We compared this format to 2 control groups employing similar activities: one with a traditional recitation component of discussion of material presented within the large lecture (N ϭ 36) and one with a traditional recitation component coupled with a behavior modification project that students designed halfway through the semester (N ϭ 133). The 3 large courses were taught by separate instructors, and recitation groups were led by graduate teaching assistants; otherwise, the sections were structured to maximize equivalency. We administered a pretest at the beginning of the semester and a posttest at the end of the semester and found that our intervention was successful in increasing critical thinking ( p 2 ϭ .065); however, across all 3 conditions, at the posttest, students were less likely to view psychology as a science ( p 2 ϭ .035).

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To date, studies exploring the relationship of counterfactual thoughts with episodic memories and episodic future thoughts have focused mainly on voluntary mental time travel. We explore mental time travel in everyday life and find that episodic counterfactual thinking occurs to a much lesser extent than thinking about the past or the future (12%, 22%, and 54%, respectively), is used mainly for mood regulation purposes, and the temporal distribution decreases as a function of time. We observe similarities in phenomenological detail: memories and counterfactual thoughts sharing similar ratings of sensory detail, memories and future thoughts sharing similar ratings of positivity, and counterfactual and future thoughts sharing similar ratings of mental time travel. We discuss the implications of episodic counterfactual thinking in everyday life.

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