Regret Aversion - The Decision Lab
“Regret is an interesting concept. Often, it involves retroactively considering a decision we made under one set of circumstances and judging it unfairly by our current ones.”
Loss Aversion explains why threats typically take precedence over opportunities when it comes to Motivation. The threat of loss used to require immediate attention, because losses were extremely costly—even life threatening. Dying or losing a loved one to a predator, sickness, exposure, or starvation is universally a horrible experience, so we’re b
... See moreJosh Kaufman • The Personal MBA: A World-Class Business Education in a Single Volume
One of the biggest sources of discontent is a mental motion that many do continually:
Planning what decision you will make ahead of when the time comes to make the decision.
The asymmetry in the risk of regret favors conventional and risk-averse choices. The bias appears in many contexts. Consumers who are reminded that they may feel regret as a result of their choices show an increased preference for conventional options, favoring brand names over generics. The behavior of the managers of financial funds as the year a
... See moreDaniel Kahneman • Thinking, Fast and Slow
Leaning into regret improves our decision-making process—because the stab of negativity slows us down. We collect more information. We consider a wider range of options. We take more time to reach a conclusion. Because we step more carefully, we’re less likely to fall through cognitive trapdoors like confirmation bias.[6]