Document Type
Thesis
Date of Degree Completion
Spring 2026
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair
Dr. Tonya Buchanan
Second Committee Member
Dr. Joshua Buchanan
Third Committee Member
Dr. Kara Gabriel
Abstract
When making decisions, we often employ the use of heuristics, or mental shortcuts, to assist us (Dale, 2015; Gigerenzer, 2008). The decoy effect is a heuristic that shifts one’s preferences towards a particular choice when a decoy option is presented next to it (Connolly et al., 2013; Mousavi et. al., 2023). Moreover, the decisions we make are affected by the context surrounding those decisions, which can lead to biases. Emotions like regret (George & Dane, 2016; Lerner et al., 2015) as well as the immediacy of the decision outcome (Cheng & He, 2017; Keren & Roelofsma, 1995) have both been shown to introduce such biases. The current study investigated whether regret, either anticipated or retrospective, decreases the impact of the decoy effect in decision-making. In addition, I examined whether making decisions for our future selves increases the influence of the decoy effect in comparison to making decisions for our current selves. Participants were primed for either anticipated regret, retrospective regret, or no regret, and were then asked to choose between three job positions designed to measure the decoy effect. Participants evaluated and chose between job offers for either their current or future selves. I hypothesized that both anticipated and retrospective regret would decrease the impact of the decoy effect relative to the no regret condition, with anticipated regret having a larger effect. In addition, I expected that decisions made for the future would amplify the decoy effect in comparison to decisions made for the present. In contrast to my initial hypothesis, I found that there was a significant decrease in the decoy effect for participants making decisions for the future. There were no significant differences among regret conditions. Understanding the role of regret and immediacy in the context of the decoy effect can assist in designing interventions or when framing choice sets, to increase targeted outcomes and reduce unwanted impacts.
Recommended Citation
Cruz, Jocelyn, "THE ROLE OF ANTICIPATED AND RETROSPECTIVE REGRET IN SHAPING THE DECOY EFFECT ACROSS IMMEDIATE AND FUTURE DECISIONS" (2026). All Master's Theses. 2340.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/2340