Regret and responsibility: A reply to Zeelenberg et al. (1998)

M. Zeelenberg W. W. van Dijk, and W. S. R. Manstead (1998, Organisational B ehaviour and Human Decision Processes, 74, 254-272) recently reported an al tered replication of our earlier study (T. Connolly, L. Lt. Ordonez, & R. C oughlan, 1997, Organisational Behaviour and: Human Decision Processes, 70,7 3-85) concerning the effects of decision agency on regret and outcome evalu ation. Our earlier study had found no such effect, but Zeelenberg et al. di d. In two new experiments, we have largely confirmed Zeelenberg et al.'s re sult but have shown that, contrary to most theory regret, (a) can appear ev en in the absence of decision agency, (b) can be unrelated to outcome evalu ations, and (c) may be more influenced by the experience of gains or Posses from the status quo than by any decisional responsibility for those change s, (C) 2000 Academic Press.