Sex differences in regret: all for love or some for lust?

Full Abstract

Few sex differences in regret or counterfactual thinking are evident in past research. The authors discovered a sex difference in regret that is both domain-specific (i.e., unique to romantic relationships) and interpretable within a convergence of theories of evolution and regulatory focus. Three studies showed that within romantic relationships, men emphasize regrets of inaction over action (which correspond to promotion vs. prevention goals, respectively), whereas women report regrets of inaction and action with equivalent frequency. Sex differences were not evident in other interpersonal regrets (friendship, parental, sibling interactions) and were not moderated by relationship status. Although the sex difference was evident in regrets centering on both sexual and nonsexual relationship aspects, it was substantially larger for sexual regrets. These findings underscore the utility of applying an evolutionary perspective to better understand goal-regulating, cognitive processes.

Author information

Author/s: Roese, Neal J (NJ); Pennington, Ginger L (GL); Coleman, Jill (J); Janicki, Maria (M); Li, Norman P (NP); Kenrick, Douglas T (DT);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Champaign 61820, USA. roese(-atsign-)uiuc.edu

Grants: MH55578 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; R01 MH055578-09 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Personality and social psychology bulletin (Pers Soc Psychol Bull), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Jun; vol 32 (issue 6) : pp 770-80

Dates: Created 2006/05/01; Completed 2006/11/09; Revised 2008/11/20;

PMID: 16648202, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.