Regret for Errors of Commission and Omission in the Distant Term Versus Near Term: The Role of Level of Abstraction

• Published in: Personality & social psychology bulletin 2009-02, Vol.35 (2), p.221-229
• Main Authors: Leach, Frederick R., Plaks, Jason E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abstract thinking; Attitude; Cognition; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive processes; Decision Making; Errors; Female; Humans; Male; Past experiences; Psychology; Regret; Studies; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0146-1672; 1552-7433
• DOI: 10.1177/0146167208327001

Why are errors of omission regretted more than errors of commission in the distant past, whereas the reverse is true for the near past? The authors hypothesized that abstract versus concrete representation is a significant contributor to this effect. In Study 1, the authors assessed participants' regret for errors of commission versus omission occurring in the distant versus near past while measuring the level of abstraction at which participants spontaneously described the dilemma. As predicted, participants' greater regret for errors of omission (vs. commission) in the distant term (vs. near term) was mediated by level of abstraction. In Study 2, temporal distance, level of abstraction, and error type were all independently manipulated. As expected, participants reported more regret for an error of omission in the distant past when it was represented abstractly versus concretely. The authors discuss the role of mental abstraction in the phenomenology of binary decisions and error-related regret.