Question: 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.
Thus, Option (a) captures the essence of the passage most accurately.
Option (b) fails to highlight the developmental aspect and the various reasons for creating counterfactuals. It also implies that people intentionally create counterfactual alternative, while passage states that people spontaneously creater these alternatives.
Option (c) emphasizes only the preparation for the future, overlooking the broader purposes of counterfactual thinking.
Option (d) incorrectly implies that counterfactual thinking helps reverse past and future actions, which is not correct. Counterfactual alternative do not reverse the past actions, it helps explain the past.
Hence, option (a).