Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here for more information

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Roese, N. J.
Right arrow Articles by Kenrick, D. T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Roese, N. J.
Right arrow Articles by Kenrick, D. T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 32, No. 6, 770-780 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167206286709
© 2006 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Sex Differences in Regret: All For Love or Some For Lust?

Neal J. Roese

University of Illinois, roese{at}uiuc.edu

Ginger L. Pennington

University of Chicago

Jill Coleman

Middlebury College

Maria Janicki

Simon Fraser University

Norman P. Li

University of Texas

Douglas T. Kenrick

Arizona State University

Few sex differences in regret or counterfactual thinking are evident in past research. The authors discovered a sex difference in regret that is both domain-specific (i.e., unique to romantic relationships) and interpretable within a convergence of theories of evolution and regulatory focus. Three studies showed that within romantic relationships, men emphasize regrets of inaction over action (which correspond to promotion vs. prevention goals, respectively), whereas women report regrets of inaction and action with equivalent frequency. Sex differences were not evident in other interpersonal regrets (friendship, parental, sibling interactions) and were not moderated by relationship status. Although the sex difference was evident in regrets centering on both sexual and nonsexual relationship aspects, it was substantially larger for sexual regrets. These findings underscore the utility of applying an evolutionary perspective to better understand goal-regulating, cognitive processes.

Key Words: regret • counterfactual • sex differences • regulatory focus • evolution • parental investment • sexual strategies • goals • motivation • affect


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Pers Soc Psychol RevHome page
J. M. Ackerman and D. T. Kenrick
The Costs of Benefits: Help-Refusals Highlight Key Trade-Offs of Social Life
Personality and Social Psychology Review, May 1, 2008; 12(2): 118 - 140.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Pers Soc Psychol RevHome page
K. Epstude and N. J. Roese
The Functional Theory of Counterfactual Thinking
Personality and Social Psychology Review, May 1, 2008; 12(2): 168 - 192.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Management & Organizational HistoryHome page
E. M. Wong
Narrating near-histories: The effects of counterfactual communication on motivation and performance
Management & Organizational History, November 1, 2007; 2(4): 351 - 370.
[Abstract] [PDF]