The Regret and Disappointment Scale

The regret and disappointment scale (RDS) is a valid instrument for assessing regret and disappointment in decision making. As the scale does not contain the words 'regret' and 'disappointment', this scale can measure these concepts even if participants and researchers rely on different definitions of the concepts.

Composition of the RDS

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Questionnaire Item Description
I am sorry about what happened to me Affective reaction
I wish I had made a different choice Regret counterfactual
I wish the events that were beyond my control had happened differently Disappointment counterfactual
I feel responsible for what happened to me Internal attribution
The events that were beyond my control are the cause of what happened to me External attribution
I am satisfied about what happened to me Control item
Things would have gone better if...
  1. I had chosen differently
  2. the course of events had been different
Choice between counterfactuals

Participants can respond to the RDS using a 7-point Likert scale, anchored at 1 (Completely disagree) and 7 (Completely agree).

References

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Marcatto, F., & Ferrante, D. (2008). The regret and disappointment scale: An instrument for assessing regret and disappointment in decision making. Judgment and Decision Making, 3(1), 87–99. https://journal.sjdm.org/bb8.pdf