title: Self-Compassion Promotes Personal Improvement From Regret Experiences via Acceptance.
abstract: Why do some people report more personal improvement from their regret experiences than others? Three studies examined whether self-compassion promotes personal improvement derived from recalled regret experiences. In Study 1, we coded anonymous regret descriptions posted on a blog website. People who spontaneously described their regret with greater self-compassion were also judged as having expressed more personal improvement. In Study 2, higher trait self-compassion predicted greater self-reported and observer-rated personal improvement derived from recalled regret experiences. In Study 3, people induced to take a self-compassionate perspective toward a recalled regret experience reported greater acceptance, forgiveness, and personal improvement. A multiple mediation analysis comparing acceptance and forgiveness showed self-compassion led to greater personal improvement, in part, through heightened acceptance. Furthermore, self-compassion's effects on personal improvement were distinct from self-esteem and were not explained by adaptive emotional responses. Overall, the results suggest that self-compassion spurs positive adjustment in the face of regrets.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Berkeley, USA jwzhang23@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Jia Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: University of California, Berkeley, USA.
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001240:Aspirations, Psychological; D004644:Emotions; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: acceptance; forgiveness; personal improvement; regret; self-compassion; self-esteem