The effects of option generation on post-decisional regret in everyday life decision-making: A field experiment

Abstract

• We examined post-decisional regret in decisions with self-generated options. • We applied a metacognitive perspective on post-decisional regret. • We conducted a field experiment using a real-life decision. • Opposed to the choice overload effect, generating more options led to less regret. • Explicitly generating options resulted in less regret than not doing so. While previous studies on post-decisional regret have exclusively focused on externally provided options, the present study is the first to examine post-decisional regret in situations with self-generated options. Applying a metacognitive perspective, we predicted that a large option set-size leads to less post-decisional regret than a small option set-size. This hypothesis is in contrast to the classic choice overload effect which has been reported for externally provided options. Furthermore, we hypothesized that explicitly generating options results in less post-decisional regret than not doing so. We used a field experimental design to test our two hypotheses. On a Sunday morning, participants were asked to generate either three or six options for what they could do during the afternoon and to select one of these options. In a control condition, participants were not instructed to generate options. On Sunday evening, participants indicated how much they regretted not having done something else. Our results provide support for both hypotheses.