Regret lotteries are one way that anticipated regrets can alter our behavior. With an ordinary lottery, I must take affirmative steps to enter—in the Duke example, by filling out the questionnaire and returning it. If I don’t do that and someone who does ends up winning, I might be slightly bummed out (assuming I even find out). But with the odds slim and my emotional investment almost nonexistent, I’m unlikely to be devastated.
