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Igou ER, van Tilburg WAP, Kinsella EL, et al. On the Existential Road From Regret to Heroism: Searching for Meaning in Life. Front Psychol. 2018;9:2375doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02375.
Igou, E. R., van Tilburg, W. A. P., Kinsella, E. L., & Buckley, L. K. (2018). On the Existential Road From Regret to Heroism: Searching for Meaning in Life. Frontiers in psychology, 92375. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02375
Igou, Eric R, et al. "On the Existential Road From Regret to Heroism: Searching for Meaning in Life." Frontiers in psychology vol. 9 (2018): 2375. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02375
Igou ER, van Tilburg WAP, Kinsella EL, Buckley LK. On the Existential Road From Regret to Heroism: Searching for Meaning in Life. Front Psychol. 2018 Dec 03;9:2375. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02375. eCollection 2018. PMID: 30559695; PMCID: PMC6286989.
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Front Psychol. 2018 Dec 03;9:2375. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02375. eCollection 2018.

On the Existential Road From Regret to Heroism: Searching for Meaning in Life.

Frontiers in psychology

Eric R Igou, Wijnand A P van Tilburg, Elaine L Kinsella, Laura K Buckley

Affiliations

  1. Advancing Social Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
  2. Psychology Department, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
  3. RISE Lab, Department of Psychology, Centre for Social Issues Research Institute, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
  4. Department of Psychology, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.

PMID: 30559695 PMCID: PMC6286989 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02375

Abstract

We investigated whether regret predicted the motivation to act heroically. In a series of studies, we examined the relationship between regret, search for meaning in life, and heroism motivation. First, Study 1 (a and b) investigated the association between regret and search for meaning in life, considering regret as a whole, action regret, and inaction regret. As expected, regret correlated positively with search for meaning in life. In two additional studies (Study 2 and 3), we examined whether regret predicted heroism motivation and whether this effect was mediated through search for meaning in life. Study 2 confirmed this hypothesis for individual differences in regret, using a correlational design. Study 3 confirmed the hypothesis for temporary experiences of regret, using an experimental design. In addition, in Study 3 we found that heroism motivation was stronger for people with high self-enhancement needs than for those with lower self-enhancement needs. We discuss the relationship between regret and heroism in light of these results and explore their implications.

Keywords: existentialism; heroes; heroism; meaning; regret; self-enhancement; self-regulation

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