Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-7601, USA.
J Pers Soc Psychol. 2012 Feb;102(2):215-23. doi: 10.1037/a0024999. Epub 2011 Aug 15.
Previous research has established that experiential purchases tend to yield greater enduring satisfaction than material purchases. The present work suggests that this difference in satisfaction is paralleled by a tendency for material and experiential purchases to differ in the types of regrets they elicit. In 5 studies, we find that people's material purchase decisions are more likely to generate regrets of action (buyer's remorse) and their experiential purchase decisions are more likely to lead to regrets of inaction (missed opportunities). These results were not attributable to differences in the desirability of or satisfaction provided by the two purchase types. Demonstrating the robustness of this effect, we found that focusing participants on the material versus experiential properties of the very same purchase was enough to shift its dominant type of regret. This pattern of regret is driven by the tendency for experiences to be seen as more singular--less interchangeable--than material purchases; interchangeable goods tend to yield regrets of action, whereas singular goods tend to yield regrets of inaction.
先前的研究已经证实，体验式购买往往比物质购买带来更大的持久满足感。本研究表明，这种满意度的差异与物质购买和体验式购买在引发的遗憾类型上的差异是平行的。在 5 项研究中，我们发现人们的物质购买决策更容易产生行动遗憾（买后悔），而他们的体验式购买决策更容易导致不作为遗憾（错失机会）。这些结果并不是由于两种购买类型的可取性或提供的满意度的差异所致。为了证明这种效果的稳健性，我们发现，关注参与者对同一购买的物质与体验特性，足以改变其主要的遗憾类型。这种遗憾模式是由体验被视为比物质购买更独特——不可互换——的趋势驱动的；可互换的商品往往会导致行动遗憾，而单一的商品往往会导致不作为遗憾。
