What we regret most are lost opportunities: a theory of regret intensity.

Full Abstract

A recent theory (Roese & Summerville, 2005) has suggested that regret is intensified by perceptions of future opportunity. In this work, however, it is proposed that feelings of regret are more likely elicited by perceptions of lost opportunity: People regret outcomes that could have been changed in the past but can no longer be changed and for which people experience low psychological closure. Consistent with the lost opportunity principle, Study 1 revealed that regretted experiences in the most commonly regretted life domains are perceived as offering the least opportunity for improvement in the future, Study 2 indicated that people experience the most regret for outcomes that are not repeatable, and Study 3 revealed that perceptions of higher past than future opportunities and low psychological closure predict regret intensity. Discussion focuses on the hope-inducing yet ephemeral nature of perceived future opportunity and on the relationship between dissonance reduction and closure.

Author information

Author/s: Beike, Denise R (DR); Markman, Keith D (KD); Karadogan, Figen (F);

Affiliation: University of Arkansas, Department of Psychology, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA. dbeike(-atsign-)uark.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

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

Reference: 2009-Mar; vol 35 (issue 3) : pp 385-97

Dates: Created 2009/02/19; Completed 2009/05/29;

PMID: 19098259, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 5/29/2009, IMS Date: 29 May 2009 00:00:00)

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

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