People are generally averse toward conflict between beliefs and/or feelings underlying their attitudes-that is, attitudinal ambivalence. This review integrates literature on attitudinal ambivalence with theories on decision making and coping strategies to gain a better understanding of when and how people deal with feelings of ambivalence. First it shows that ambivalence is experienced as being particularly unpleasant when the ambivalent attitude holder is confronted with the necessity to make a choice concerning the ambivalent attitude object; then, incongruent evaluative components of the attitude become accessible, and feelings of uncertainty about the potential outcomes arise, which may involve the anticipation of aversive emotions. Several coping strategies are employed when ambivalence is experienced as unpleasant. Emotion- and problem-focused coping strategies are discussed. The article concludes with a discussion of the MAID (model of ambivalence-induced discomfort), which aims to describe the consequences of ambivalence.

Decision outcomes sometimes result in negative emotions. This can occur when a decision appears to be wrong in retrospect, and/or when the obtained decision outcome does not live up to expectations. Regret and disappointment are the two emotions that are of central interest in the present article. Although these emotions have a lot in common, they also differ in ways that are relevant to decision making. In this article we review theories and empirical ® ndings concerningregret and disappointment. We ® rst discuss how regret and disappointment differ with respect to their antecedent conditions, appraisals, and phenomenology. We also discuss possible behavioural consequences of experiencing these emotions. Next, we consider how the anticipation of regret and disappointment may in¯uence decision making. We use regret and disappointment theory, developed by the economists Bell (1982Bell ( , 1985, and Loomes and Sugden (1982, as a framework for our discussion. Finally, we argue that combining the theoretical approaches and research paradigms of behavioural decision theory with emotion theories will significantly increase our knowledge of antecedents and consequences of emotions.

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Emotional reactions to the outcomes of decisionsZeelenberg, Marcel; van Dijk, W.W.; van der Pligt, J.; Manstead, A.S.R.; van Empelen, P.; Reinderman, D. Publication date: 1998Link to publication Citation for published version (APA):Zeelenberg, M., van Dijk, W. W., van der Pligt, J., Manstead, A. S. R., van Empelen, P., & Reinderman, D. (1998). Emotional reactions to the outcomes of decisions: The role of counterfactual thought in the experience of regret and disappointment. (CentER Discussion Paper; Vol. 1998-35). Tilburg: Marketing. General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.-Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research -You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain -You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright, please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. words, its utility. Thus, when buying a new VCR, the satisfaction or utility derived from that particular VCR depends not only on the attributes of VCR itself, but also on how it compares to the prior set expectations and the attributes of unchosen alternatives. This psychological process of comparing the obtained outcome with other possible outcomes has become known as counterfac[ual thinking.In the present paper we focus on how these counterfactual thoughts about "what might have been"influence specific emotional reactions to decision outcomes. We argue that the content of the counterfactual thoughts (i.e., the specific alternative outcome to which the obtained outcome is compared) has an impact on which emotion is experienced. Studying how these psychological processes cause these specific emotional reactions is not only interesting for its own sake. As shown by recent empirical research, people anticipate emotions, and take them into account when making decisions (e.g., Beattie, Baron, Hershey, Bc Spranca, 1994; Larrick 8c Boles, 1995; Ritov, 1996; Zeelenberg 8c Beattie, 1997; Zeelenberg, Beattie, van der Pligt 8c de Vries, 1996). Knowledge about the role of counterfactual thought in the experience of emotions can therefore help us understand the role of emotions in decision-making.Pepijn van Empelen is currently at the Department of Health Education of the University of Maastricht. Dimitri Reinderman recently became a grand master, and decided to leave academia in order to devote his life to the game of chess. We thank lanet Landman and Nyla Branscombe, and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.Address correspondence and reprint requests to Marcel Z...