Regret and Decision Making: When the Negative Event Does Not Occur

The goal of our study is to elucidate the phenomenon of “anticipatory regret” based on common scenarios where individuals anticipate potential regret arising from their decisions that may result in an undesirable outcome. Anticipated regret has a significant influence on our choices, often prompting us to take preventative measures to avoid this potential regret. Our research aims to deepen our understanding of this complex interaction between the frequencies of occurrence of negative events, the decision to purchase insurance and anticipated regret. To do this, we use a rigorous experimental methodology carried out on 320 students with the aim of better understanding the mechanisms underlying decision-making in situations of uncertainty and risk.