When curiosity killed regret: Avoiding or seeking the unknown in decision-making under uncertainty

doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2006.06.004

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Volume 43, Issue 4, July 2007, Pages 656-662

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2006.06.004 Get rights and content

Abstract

In two experimental studies we investigated how curiosity and regret aversion affect decision-making under uncertainty. Building on insights derived from information-gap theory [Loewenstein, G. (1994). The psychology of curiosity: a review and reinterpretation. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 75–98], we demonstrate that curiosity may overcome regret aversion. In Experiment 1, we concentrate on the reluctance to opt for alternatives with uncertain outcomes and demonstrate that curiosity about the uncertain outcomes may override regret aversion. In Experiment 2, we focus on reluctance to expose oneself to potential regret-inducing information and demonstrate that curiosity may overcome this reluctance.

Section snippets

Experiment 1: The more I know, the more I want to know

Some time ago, one of the authors of this article witnessed an intriguing scene at the local market. A merchant was selling wrapped packages to a crowd of people who anxiously waved their Euros. What was the content of the package? Nobody knew! As the merchant said, the only way to know the content was to buy the package. He only gave some vague hints about the content, such as “it’s a useful item” and “it’s handy.” Apparently, this knowledge was sufficient to induce curiosity and a willingness

Experiment 2: If it’s There, I Want to Know

As we noted earlier, there is an additional way in which a regret-aversive strategy may affect decision-making. We noted that after having made a decision, people may block out information that might indicate that they made the wrong decision. Put differently, they selectively expose themselves to information by not attending to information that would not be supportive of their decision (cf. Festinger, 1957, Festinger, 1964, Frey, 1986). Blocking out information may, however, be easier said

General discussion

Enhancing curiosity may be an effective means to influence decision-making in marketing contexts (Menon & Soman, 2002), and as the current findings suggest, this curiosity may be so strong that it overrides regret aversion. The merchant at the local market described in the introduction of Experiment 1 most certainly was aware of this. Based on the current findings, we suggest that several aspects contributed to his success. First of all, he increased curiosity by increasing the knowledge of the

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When curiosity killed regret: Avoiding or seeking the unknown in decision-making under uncertainty

Abstract

Section snippets

Experiment 1: The more I know, the more I want to know

Experiment 2: If it’s There, I Want to Know

General discussion

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

Advances in Experimental Social Psychology

Journal of Management

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

Cognition

Cognitive Psychology

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

Prediction and postdiction preferences in guessing

Journal of Behavioral Decision Making

A theory of cognitive dissonance