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27 June 2006
Have Fun Now, Or You値l Regret It Later 
"Regrets, I've had a few," as ol' blue eyes sang. But as it turns out, you may have more and more regrets as you get older. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that the older we get, the more we regret not having more fun. The researchers, from Columbia University, explain that choosing work over play leads to regrets about having missed out on the pleasures of life. And over time, these regrets intensify, while guilt about indulging tends to fade. "While yielding to temptation can certainly be harmful, this article argues that overcontrol and excessive farsightedness [hyperopia] can also have negative long-term consequences," said Columbia's Ran Kivetz and Anat Keinan. The researchers go on to explain that as with many mid-life crises, we tend to experience especially strong regret if pleasure is constantly delayed. According to the study, the greater temporal perspective gleaned with age helps us let go of guilt for transgressions that occurred in the past. Instead, we begin to experience wistful feelings for delayed pleasures - for not taking that around-the-world trip sooner or for constantly dieting and not eating dessert. "In the short run, vice is regretted more than virtue, but in the long run virtue is regretted more," say the researchers. "Consumers sometimes suffer from excessive farsightedness and future-biased preferences, consistently delaying pleasure and overweighing necessity and virtue in local decisions." Source: University of Chicago Press Journals
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