Protecting the self from the negative consequences of risky decisions.
Three experiments tested the idea that a motive to protect self-esteem (SE) from the threat of regret can influence decision making. Threat to SE was manipulated by varying whether people expected to know the outcome of their decisions. Study 1 showed that when Ss expected feedback about their decisions, only Ss low in SE made regret-minimizing choices. Study 2 showed that when Ss did not expect to know the outcome of their decisions, SE differences in choice strategies disappeared. Study 3 manipulated expectations about feedback on chosen and unchosen alternatives and showed that the more feedback that was expected, the more likely low but not high SE Ss were to make regret-minimizing choices. These studies suggest that people base decisions not only on objective attributes of choice alternatives, but also on the damage to SE that is perceived to result from a poor-decision outcome.
Duke Scholars
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Related Subject Headings
- Social Psychology
- Self Concept
- Risk-Taking
- Personality Inventory
- Male
- Knowledge of Results, Psychological
- Humans
- Gambling
- Female
- Defense Mechanisms
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Social Psychology
- Self Concept
- Risk-Taking
- Personality Inventory
- Male
- Knowledge of Results, Psychological
- Humans
- Gambling
- Female
- Defense Mechanisms