For the study, the team of psychologists asked volunteers who were ignorant of the athlete’s medal position to rate their facial expressions. They found that bronze medalists were consistently and significantly happier than silver medalists. This is both right after finding out their placement and once on the podium.
There’s a logical reason for this. Silver medalists feel as though they could have won gold, while bronze medalists feel lucky to have gotten a medal. It’s what psychologists call “counterfactual thinking.”
A follow-up at another competition showed that athletes who won silver used phrases such as “I almost…”, concentrating their responses on what they missed out on. Bronze medalists, on the other hand, tended to contemplate the idea of missing out on a medal altogether.
This just goes to show that a person’s perspective can completely change the way they see something. Next time you feel regret, think about other possible outcomes.
