Regret Aversion — the research, and how to use it at events

The research, plainly

Zeelenberg and Pieters mapped regret's special power: anticipated regret — imagining the future self who chose wrong — drives decisions distinct from simple loss avoidance, especially when the miss would be visible and the outcome knowable.

The receipt: Zeelenberg & Pieters, 2007

What it means for events

'You'll hear about what you missed' is the sharpest honest lever in event marketing — the imagined future self at the water cooler, hearing the stories secondhand. Make the miss vivid, keep it true, and let the audience's own imagination close the sale.

Where to run it

Registration copy

'The people who missed last year still hear about it' — the regret frame, run honestly, outperforms the benefit list.

Deadline design

'Doors close Friday — and this one doesn't repeat' works precisely when it's true. Anticipated regret needs a real fork.

Post-event content

Publish the peak moments loudly. This year's FOMO harvest is next year's registration engine.

Seen in the wild

The Dutch Postcode Lottery weaponized regret openly — if your street wins and you didn't play, you watch your neighbors celebrate — and researchers found anticipated regret driving participation exactly as designed. Events run the gentler version every year.

Related concepts

Loss AversionLosing $100 hurts about twice as much as winning $100 feels good.ScarcityWhen something is genuinely limited, people want it more — and decide faster.Rosy RetrospectionEvents get better in memory as time passes.

All 115 concepts in the Library →

Now use it

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