Compléter 162-testVersion en ligne 162-test par Farhad Key 1 argued that counterfactuals data those salient test actually prior In an often - cited study about , Medvec , Madey , and Gilovich ( 1995 ) found that bronze medalists appeared happier than silver medalists in television coverage of the 1992 Summer Olympics . Medvec et al . that bronze medalists compared themselves to 4th place finishers , whereas silver medalists compared themselves to gold medalists . These counterfactuals were the most because they were either qualitatively different ( gold vs . silver ) or categorically different ( medal vs . no medal ) from what occurred . Drawing on archival and experimental studies , we show that Olympic athletes ( among others ) are more likely to make counterfactual comparisons based on their expectations , consistent with decision affect theory . Silver medalists are more likely to be disappointed because their personal expectations are higher than of bronze medalists . We provide a between expectancy - base versus category - based processing and discuss circumstances trigger each type of processing .