In the tryouts for the football team, Gary finishes 31st out of 150 people who tried out. The top 30 finishers made the team, so Gary feels that he just missed the cut. He's extremely disappointed,

even more disappointed than his friend who finished 125th. Most likely, Gary feels worse than his friend because of
A) counterfactual thinking.
B) rationalization.
C) downward social comparison.
D) self-perception processes

Answer: A