Regret: On the egotistic basis of a moral emotion

Regret is often viewed as an emotion aimed at regulating future behavior for the better. However, selfishness may undermine this positive function and interfere with behavioral adjustment after experiencing regret. Using self-reports from a sample of adults from the general population (N = 396; Mage = 41.52, SD = 12.11; 46.5% female), it was examined to what extent egocentricity and self-interest were associated with how often people feel regret (“regret frequency”). These associations were also compared to those with guilt and shame likelihood. Moreover, it was examined to what extent self-control could act as a brake on selfish tendencies in experiencing regret. Regression analyses indicated that higher levels of egocentricity and self-interest were related to reporting higher regret frequency. Moreover, higher levels of egocentricity combined with lower levels of self-control were most strongly associated to regret frequency. For guilt likelihood, the opposite was found: low levels of self-interest were most strongly associated with guilt likelihood. Low levels of egocentricity/self-interest were also related to higher shame likelihood. Findings are discussed in relation to directions for future research.