Remorse
Encyclopedia
Remorse is an emotional expression of personal regret
felt by a person after he or she has committed an act which they deem to be shameful, hurtful, or violent. Remorse is closely allied to guilt
and self-directed resentment
. When a person regrets an earlier action or failure to act, it may be because of remorse or in response to various other consequences, including being punished for the act or omission. In a legal context, the perceived remorse of an offender is assessed by Western justice systems during trials, sentencing, parole hearings, and in restorative justice
. However, it has been pointed out that epistemological problems arise in assessing an offender's level of remorse.
A person who is incapable of feeling remorse is often labelled with antisocial personality disorder
- as characterized in the DSM IV-TR
. In general, a person needs to be unable to feel fear
, as well as remorse in order to develop psychopathic traits. Legal and business professions such as insurance have done research on the expression of remorse via apologies, primarily because of the potential litigation and financial implications.
context, "buyer's remorse
" is the concept of regretting a purchase after buying it. From a business perspective, the problem with "buyer's remorse" is that a consumer's fear of regretting having made a purchase may influence them to delay or avoid making these major purchases, which can reduce the sales of companies selling these products. Customers' fears of ending up with "buyer's remorse" is typically much greater for expensive purchases, such as appliances, cars, and houses. Customers' fears range from the mild worry that the item in question may not meet all of their needs (or their families' needs) to the fear that they will end up buying a mechanically or structurally unsound product. To allay consumers' fears, and encourage them to make "big ticket" purchases, companies have used a variety of techniques, such as offering "try-before-you-buy" programs, warranties
, money-back guarantees, and "30-day exchange" programs.
"Try-before-you-buy" programs range from relatively short trials, as in the case of 30-minute test drives in the automobile market, to several-week loans for other types of products. With high-end home audio products and pro-level musical instruments, the qualities of these expensive products are very subtle and hard to assess; a customer is not able to determine if a $3000 loudspeaker or a $30,000 violin has the sound or tone that they subjectively prefer merely by listening to it or using it in the store for a few hours. To determine if a high-end stereo or musical instrument meets their needs, clients typically take the product out on loan for several weeks, so that they can test the equipment or instrument's response to different types of music and listening environments. Warranties, money-back guarantees, and exchange programs all help to allay the fears of the customer that there will be costly problems with the product; with these programs, the customer knows that in the event of a breakdown, it will be fixed by the store or the product will be replaced.
Regret (emotion)
Regret is a negative conscious and emotional reaction to personal past acts and behaviors. Regret is often expressed by the term "sorry." Regret is often felt when someone feels sadness, shame, embarrassment, depression, annoyance or guilt after committing an action or actions that the person later...
felt by a person after he or she has committed an act which they deem to be shameful, hurtful, or violent. Remorse is closely allied to guilt
Guilt
Guilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...
and self-directed resentment
Resentment
Resentment is the experience of a negative emotion felt as a result of a real or imagined wrong done. Etymologically, the word originates from French "ressentir", re-, intensive prefix, and sentir "to feel"; from the Latin "sentire"...
. When a person regrets an earlier action or failure to act, it may be because of remorse or in response to various other consequences, including being punished for the act or omission. In a legal context, the perceived remorse of an offender is assessed by Western justice systems during trials, sentencing, parole hearings, and in restorative justice
Restorative justice
Restorative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of victims, offenders, as well as the involved community, instead of satisfying abstract legal principles or punishing the offender...
. However, it has been pointed out that epistemological problems arise in assessing an offender's level of remorse.
A person who is incapable of feeling remorse is often labelled with antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
- as characterized in the DSM IV-TR
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders...
. In general, a person needs to be unable to feel fear
Fear
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
, as well as remorse in order to develop psychopathic traits. Legal and business professions such as insurance have done research on the expression of remorse via apologies, primarily because of the potential litigation and financial implications.
Studies
Two studies on apologizing are "The Five Languages of Apology" by Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thomas, and "On Apology" by Aaron Lazare. These studies indicate that effective apologies that express remorse typically include a detailed account of the offense; acknowledgment of the hurt or damage done; acceptance of the responsibility for, and ownership of, the act or omission; and an explanation that recognizes one's role. As well, apologies usually include a statement or expression of regret, humility or remorse; a request for forgiveness; and an expression of a credible commitment to change or a promise that it will not happen again. Apologies may also include some form of restitution, compensation or token gesture in line with the damage that you caused. When an apology is delayed, for instance if a friend has been wronged and the offending party does not apologize, the perception of the offense can compound over time. This is sometimes known as compounding remorse. Compunction refers to the act of actively expressing remorse, usually requiring the remorseful individual to physically approach the person to whom they are expressing regret.In marketing
In a business and marketingMarketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
context, "buyer's remorse
Buyer's remorse
Buyer's remorse is the sense of regret after having made a purchase. It is frequently associated with the purchase of an expensive item such as a car or house...
" is the concept of regretting a purchase after buying it. From a business perspective, the problem with "buyer's remorse" is that a consumer's fear of regretting having made a purchase may influence them to delay or avoid making these major purchases, which can reduce the sales of companies selling these products. Customers' fears of ending up with "buyer's remorse" is typically much greater for expensive purchases, such as appliances, cars, and houses. Customers' fears range from the mild worry that the item in question may not meet all of their needs (or their families' needs) to the fear that they will end up buying a mechanically or structurally unsound product. To allay consumers' fears, and encourage them to make "big ticket" purchases, companies have used a variety of techniques, such as offering "try-before-you-buy" programs, warranties
Warranty
In business and legal transactions, a warranty is an assurance by one party to the other party that specific facts or conditions are true or will happen; the other party is permitted to rely on that assurance and seek some type of remedy if it is not true or followed.In real estate transactions, a...
, money-back guarantees, and "30-day exchange" programs.
"Try-before-you-buy" programs range from relatively short trials, as in the case of 30-minute test drives in the automobile market, to several-week loans for other types of products. With high-end home audio products and pro-level musical instruments, the qualities of these expensive products are very subtle and hard to assess; a customer is not able to determine if a $3000 loudspeaker or a $30,000 violin has the sound or tone that they subjectively prefer merely by listening to it or using it in the store for a few hours. To determine if a high-end stereo or musical instrument meets their needs, clients typically take the product out on loan for several weeks, so that they can test the equipment or instrument's response to different types of music and listening environments. Warranties, money-back guarantees, and exchange programs all help to allay the fears of the customer that there will be costly problems with the product; with these programs, the customer knows that in the event of a breakdown, it will be fixed by the store or the product will be replaced.