Regret Regulation: Disentangling Self-Reproach From Learning

This article begins with several testable propositions inspired by Zeelenberg and Pieters (this issue). I argue that a critical skill for decision makers is to decouple the aspect of regret that leads to self-reproach from that aspect that can be used to learn from the outcome and improve future decision making. Results of an illustrative study are presented and discussed. Two other useful strategies are to match the decision effort to the decision's importance and to break big decisions into smaller ones. I close with a call for research examining regret as a self-control mechanism.