2000/03/01 by Michael Tsiros, Vikas Mittal · 62 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Decision Sciences · Psychology · #Actuarial science #Cognition #Complaint #Computer science #Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification #Counterfactual conditional #Counterfactual thinking #Customer Service Quality and Loyalty #Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics #Economics #Microeconomics #Outcome (game theory) #Political science #Psychology #Regret #Social psychology #Status quo #Valence (chemistry)
paper · open access · doi:10.1086/209571
published in Journal of Consumer Research 26(4), 401-417 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2000/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
The article develops a model of regret and tests it via four studies. Study 1 develops a multi-item measure of regret and distinguishes it from satisfaction. It also shows that, while satisfaction directly influences both repurchase and complaint intentions, regret directly influences only repurchase intentions, and its effect on complaint intentions is fully mediated via satisfaction. Study 2 examines the antecedents and moderators of regret. It shows that regret is experienced even in the absence of information on a better-forgone outcome. Furthermore, the moderating effect of three situation-specific characteristics (outcome valence, status quo preservation, and reversibility of the outcome) is examined. Studies 3 and 4 examine the cognitive process underlying the experiencing of regret in the absence of information on a better-forgone outcome. Generation of counterfactuals is identified as the cognitive mechanism that engenders regret. Results show that counterfactuals are most likely to be generated when the chosen outcome is negative and not the status quo.