Working Too Hard or Not Hard Enough?

Abstract: Does working hard take the sting out of regret following failure or does working hard increase feelings of regret? The present research finds that neither of these views is correct. Rather, the results of both experiments found that regret was an interactive function of instrumental effort and goal value. In support of the consistency-fit model, large versus small amounts of effort produced more regret on a low-valued task, whereas small amounts of effort produced more regret on a high-valued task. Furthermore, supporting the consistency-fit model, receiving an undesirable outcome did not always produce more regret on the high- than low-valued task. We discussed several perspectives including attribution, achievement motivation, and cognitive dissonance.