Regrets over “me” versus regrets over “us”: The influence of culture on action versus inaction regrets

Abstract

As with other cognitively determined emotional experiences, regret is shaped by and expressed in a particular cultural milieu. However, past research on regret has primarily been conducted in Western cultures, especially the United States, and cross‐cultural research has been limited. In three studies, we employed various methods (survey, social media data, and experiment) to examine how regret is experienced differently in South Korea (a collectivistic culture) and in the United States (an individualistic culture). We discovered that regret experiences were dependent on the life domain in the collectivistic culture—individuals in this culture were more likely to be prevention‐oriented and regretful about actions (what they have done) in social domains but more promotion‐oriented and regretful about inactions (what they have failed to do) in personal domains. In comparison, those in the individualistic culture were more likely to regret inactions regardless of life domains, a tendency associated with a promotion focus.