People seem to have a rather rich repertoire of tactics for regulating moods and dealing with unp... more People seem to have a rather rich repertoire of tactics for regulating moods and dealing with unpleasant events. The current work examines one such tactic. It suggests that to render a disappointing reality more palatable, people sometimes change the perceived probabilities of relevant events post facto so that the disappointing reality appears almost inevitable and the more positive alternatives now seem highly unlikely. This “retroactive pessimism” effect was demonstrated in two studies. In the first, participants were asked to imagine themselves in a situation in which they experienced a disappointing outcome and then assess the likelihood that a more favorable alternative could have occurred. In the second, participants were asked to evaluate each candidate’s chances of winning in the recent prime minister race in Israel before and after the elections.
The possession of an insurance policy may not only affect the severity of a potential loss but al... more The possession of an insurance policy may not only affect the severity of a potential loss but also its perceived probability. Intuitively, people may feel that if they are insured nothing bad is likely to happen, but if they do not have insurance they are at greater peril. In Experiment 1, respondents who were reminded of their medical insurance felt they were less likely to suffer health problems in the future compared to people who were not reminded of their medical insurance. In Experiment 2a, participants who were unable to purchase travel insurance judged the probability of travel-related calamities higher compared to those who were insured. These results were replicated in Experiment 3a in a simulation of car accident insurance. The findings are explained in terms of intuitive magical thinking, specifically, the negative affective consequences of “tempting fate” and the sense of safety afforded by the notion of “being covered.”
This study examined whether persons who possess different types of self-discrepancies are sensiti... more This study examined whether persons who possess different types of self-discrepancies are sensitive to different types of psychological situations as evident in their memory for another person's experiences. All subjects read the same essay in which a target person experienced events reflecting different types of psychological situations (e.g., the presence of a positive outcome; the absence of a negative outcome). The target person's experiences were circumstantial and not personality related (e.g., finding money on the street; escaping an unpleasant school day because of an election). Half the subjects were predominant actual: ideal discrepancy persons, who, according to self-discrepancy theory, are oriented toward hopes and wishes and are sensitive to the presence and absence of positive outcomes. The remaining subjects were predominant actual: ought discrepancy persons, who are oriented toward sanction-dictated duties and obligations and are sensitive to the absence and ...
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1998
When an attractive action opportunity has been forgone, individuals tend to decline a substantial... more When an attractive action opportunity has been forgone, individuals tend to decline a substantially less attractive current opportunity in the same action domain, even though, in an absolute sense, it still has positive value. The hypothesis that continued inaction (inaction inertia) occurs in the service of avoiding anticipated regret was tested. In Experiments 1 and 2, when repeated contact with
People seem to have a rather rich repertoire of tactics for regulating moods and dealing with unp... more People seem to have a rather rich repertoire of tactics for regulating moods and dealing with unpleasant events. The current work examines one such tactic. It suggests that to render a disappointing reality more palatable, people sometimes change the perceived probabilities of relevant events post facto so that the disappointing reality appears almost inevitable and the more positive alternatives now seem highly unlikely. This “retroactive pessimism” effect was demonstrated in two studies. In the first, participants were asked to imagine themselves in a situation in which they experienced a disappointing outcome and then assess the likelihood that a more favorable alternative could have occurred. In the second, participants were asked to evaluate each candidate’s chances of winning in the recent prime minister race in Israel before and after the elections.
The possession of an insurance policy may not only affect the severity of a potential loss but al... more The possession of an insurance policy may not only affect the severity of a potential loss but also its perceived probability. Intuitively, people may feel that if they are insured nothing bad is likely to happen, but if they do not have insurance they are at greater peril. In Experiment 1, respondents who were reminded of their medical insurance felt they were less likely to suffer health problems in the future compared to people who were not reminded of their medical insurance. In Experiment 2a, participants who were unable to purchase travel insurance judged the probability of travel-related calamities higher compared to those who were insured. These results were replicated in Experiment 3a in a simulation of car accident insurance. The findings are explained in terms of intuitive magical thinking, specifically, the negative affective consequences of “tempting fate” and the sense of safety afforded by the notion of “being covered.”
This study examined whether persons who possess different types of self-discrepancies are sensiti... more This study examined whether persons who possess different types of self-discrepancies are sensitive to different types of psychological situations as evident in their memory for another person's experiences. All subjects read the same essay in which a target person experienced events reflecting different types of psychological situations (e.g., the presence of a positive outcome; the absence of a negative outcome). The target person's experiences were circumstantial and not personality related (e.g., finding money on the street; escaping an unpleasant school day because of an election). Half the subjects were predominant actual: ideal discrepancy persons, who, according to self-discrepancy theory, are oriented toward hopes and wishes and are sensitive to the presence and absence of positive outcomes. The remaining subjects were predominant actual: ought discrepancy persons, who are oriented toward sanction-dictated duties and obligations and are sensitive to the absence and ...
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1998
When an attractive action opportunity has been forgone, individuals tend to decline a substantial... more When an attractive action opportunity has been forgone, individuals tend to decline a substantially less attractive current opportunity in the same action domain, even though, in an absolute sense, it still has positive value. The hypothesis that continued inaction (inaction inertia) occurs in the service of avoiding anticipated regret was tested. In Experiments 1 and 2, when repeated contact with
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