title: The development of children's regret and relief.
abstract: Previous research found that children first experience regret at 5 years and relief at 7. In two experiments, we explored three possibilities for this lag: (1) relief genuinely develops later than regret; (2) tests of relief have previously been artefactually difficult; or (3) evidence for regret resulted from false positives. In Experiment 1 (N=162 4- to 7-year-olds) children chose one of two cards that led to winning or losing tokens. Children rated their happiness then saw a better (regret) or worse (relief) alternative. Children re-rated their happiness. Regret after winning was first experienced at 4, regret after losing and relief after winning were experienced at 5 years and relief after losing at 7 years. Experiment 2 (N=297 5- to 8-year-olds) used a similar task but manipulated children's responsibility for the outcome. Greater responsibility for the outcome resulted in a greater likelihood of an experience of regret and relief. Results support that previous tests of relief were artefactually difficult and regret and relief are experienced earlier than previously thought.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: Daniel P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Weisberg
authors.forename: Sarah R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Beck
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012201:Reward; D013850:Thinking