Fret Less About Seniors’ Regret

We all have regrets. But according to a group of psychologists at Stanford University, people become less disturbed by their regrets when late in their lifespan. Rather than experiencing only despair and wistfulness about mistakes made, the elderly are likely to also experience positive emotions. These might include gratitude for lessons learned or pride at having moved on from the setbacks, for instance.
     In the studies, the ages of the 629 participants ranged from 18 to 92 years and the sample was selected to be representative of U.S. Census benchmarks by age and gender. Some participants were asked about a major life regret, while others were asked about a regret which occurred within the past year. This was done to equalize the exploration of emotions across the age range because the psychologists recognized how the longer you’ve lived, the more opportunities you’ve had to accumulate regrets.
     Considering this care exercised in conducting the study, I believe the conclusions can be applied to both action regrets—thinking about what the person did—and inaction regrets—thinking about what they failed to do. It can be applied to major decisions which the senior later decides led to long-term disadvantages and for decisions as minor as a purchase which the senior wishes they’d passed on.
     So marketers should not worry that justified decisions they’re persuading seniors to make are likely to be mistakenly regretted by those seniors later. At the same time, though, marketers need to protect seniors from making the sorts of decisions which should be regretted later. Older people can complete transactions with an excess of impulse. It has to do with the trouble the aged brain has in filtering out irrelevant signals and in keeping focus.
     Compared to younger shoppers, seniors spend less time and attention on gathering detailed information before decisions. But along with this, they are less likely to complain and more likely to accentuate the positives after making a bad buy. Even when dissatisfied, they tend to return to the same set of merchants and shop for the same brands. Familiarity is appealing, and memory is often flawed. Studies find the habits to be so strong that even when there is evidence of harm from a product, senior shoppers usually have to be assertively steered away from repeat purchases. The helpful guidance which regret provides in the younger consumer is too often overlooked by the elderly.

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