On the Existential Road From Regret to Heroism - Frontiers

Study 1 (A-B): Regret and Meaning Search ThisarticleispartoftheResearchTopic TheArtandScienceofHeroismandHeroicLeadership Viewall 12 Articles Articles ScottT.Allison UniversityofRichmond,UnitedStates MeredithR.Wilkinson DeMontfortUniversity,UnitedKingdom JeffreyD.Green VirginiaCommonwealthUniversity,UnitedStates Theeditorandreviewers'affiliationsarethelatestprovidedontheirLoopresearchprofilesandmaynotreflecttheirsituationatthetimeofreview. Abstract Introduction Study1(A-B):RegretandMeaningSearch Study2:IndividualDifferencesinRegretandHeroismMotivation Study3:TemporaryRegretExperiencesandHeroismMotivation GeneralDiscussion ConclusionsandImplications DataAvailability EthicsStatement AuthorContributions ConflictofInterestStatement Acknowledgments SupplementaryMaterial Footnotes References SuggestaResearchTopic> DownloadArticle DownloadPDF ReadCube EPUB XML(NLM) Supplementary Material Exportcitation EndNote ReferenceManager SimpleTEXTfile BibTex totalviews ViewArticleImpact SuggestaResearchTopic> SHAREON OpenSupplementalData ORIGINALRESEARCHarticle Front.Psychol.,03December2018 |https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02375 OntheExistentialRoadFromRegrettoHeroism:SearchingforMeaninginLife EricR.Igou1*,WijnandA.P.vanTilburg2,ElaineL.Kinsella3andLauraK.Buckley4 1AdvancingSocialCognitionLab,DepartmentofPsychology,HealthResearchInstitute,UniversityofLimerick,Limerick,Ireland 2PsychologyDepartment,King’sCollegeLondon,London,UnitedKingdom 3RISELab,DepartmentofPsychology,CentreforSocialIssuesResearchInstitute,HealthResearchInstitute,UniversityofLimerick,Limerick,Ireland 4DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofLimerick,Limerick,Ireland Weinvestigatedwhetherregretpredictedthemotivationtoactheroically.Inaseriesofstudies,weexaminedtherelationshipbetweenregret,searchformeaninginlife,andheroismmotivation.First,Study1(aandb)investigatedtheassociationbetweenregretandsearchformeaninginlife,consideringregretasawhole,actionregret,andinactionregret.Asexpected,regretcorrelatedpositivelywithsearchformeaninginlife.Intwoadditionalstudies(Study2and3),weexaminedwhetherregretpredictedheroismmotivationandwhetherthiseffectwasmediatedthroughsearchformeaninginlife.Study2confirmedthishypothesisforindividualdifferencesinregret,usingacorrelationaldesign.Study3confirmedthehypothesisfortemporaryexperiencesofregret,usinganexperimentaldesign.Inaddition,inStudy3wefoundthatheroismmotivationwasstrongerforpeoplewithhighself-enhancementneedsthanforthosewithlowerself-enhancementneeds.Wediscusstherelationshipbetweenregretandheroisminlightoftheseresultsandexploretheirimplications. Introduction Canregretsmakeusbetterpeople?Cantheybringoutthebestinusbyguidingustoheroicactions?Howcouldthatbepossiblegiventhatregretisanegativeexperience(e.g.,GilovichandMedvec,1995;Roese,1997;CoricelliandRustichini,2010)?Inthepresentresearch,inspiredbythosequestions,weempiricallyexaminedwhetherbehavioralintentionslinkedtoheroismcanbeafunctionofregret.Wearguethatregretisassociatedwithpsychologicalprocessesthatfacilitateheroismmotivation.Specifically,wefocusontheroleofsearchformeaninginlifeandconsidertheroleofself-enhancement. Regret,Life,andMeaning Humanshavetheneedandtheabilitytomakesenseoftheiractionsandbehavior(e.g.,Frankl,1946;PostmanandWeingartner,1969;Bruner,1990;BaumeisterandVohs,2002;Heineetal.,2006;VanTilburgandIgou,2011b).Suchinterpretationsarenotalwayspleasant;infact,theycanbeveryunpleasant.Peoplecan,forexample,feelembarrassed,ashamed,orguilty.Herewezero-inononepotentialresponse:regret. Regretisanegativeexperienceconcerningthecauseandadesiretoreversethecurrentsituation(GilovichandMedvec,1995;Roese,1997).Itisanemotionorientedtowardthepast,signalinganunfavorableevaluationofapastchoice(e.g.,Zeelenbergetal.,1998b).Essentially,regretexperiencesinvolvethoughtsaboutcounterfactuals,thatis,“whatmighthavebeen”insteadof“whatis”(e.g.,KahnemanandMiller,1986;ConnollyandZeelenberg,2002);thesearethoughtsofone’spreviousactionorinactionandhowthingswouldhavebeendifferent,hadonebehaveddifferently(e.g.,Roese,1994,1997;Gilovichetal.,1998;RoeseandSummerville,2005;EpstudeandRoese,2008;EpstudeandJonas,2015;RoeseandEpstude,2017;foranoverviewseeMandeletal.,2007). Regretisanexperiencethatiscrucialinthelivesofhumans(e.g.,StewartandVandewater,1999;WroschandHeckhausen,2002;Timmeretal.,2005),whichisreflectedinthevariousareaswhereregrethasbeendocumented(foranoverviewseeRoeseandSummerville,2005)suchashealthandwell-being(e.g.,Leccietal.,1994;StewartandVandewater,1999;Jokisaari,2003;ConnollyandReb,2005b;EpstudeandJonas,2015),personality(e.g.,Schwartzetal.,2002),andromance(e.g.,RoeseandSummerville,2005;Timmeretal.,2005).Regretscanbeveryintense(e.g.,Beikeetal.,2009),withsomepeoplebeingmorevulnerabletoexperiencingthisemotionthanothers(e.g.,Schwartzetal.,2002).Regretscanhaveavarietyofconsequences,suchasself-blame(e.g.,ConnollyandZeelenberg,2002),changeofexpectations(e.g.,ConnollyandReb,2005a),ruminationaboutlostopportunities(e.g.,StewartandVandewater,1999;Beikeetal.,2009),aswellasadjustmentsandbehaviorchanges(e.g.,Leccietal.,1994;Roese,1994;RoeseandSummerville,2005;Saffreyetal.,2008).Whenpeopleregretsomething,theyarelikelytoconsidertheopportunitiesthattheydidnottakeandthechoiceswithbetteroutcomesthattheycouldhavemade.However,theconsequencesfollowingregretneednotalwaysbenegative. Researchshowstherearesomeimprovementbenefitsofregretthatarerootedinthecounterfactualthoughtsassociatedwiththisexperience(e.g.,Markmanetal.,2008;CoricelliandRustichini,2010),atleastwhenpeopleperceivesomelevelofpersonalresponsibilityfortheiractionsorinactions(e.g.,Zeelenbergetal.,1998a).Regretinvolvesaninconsistencybetweensubjectivelyrelevantgoalsregardingaparticularsituationorlifeingeneralandone’sactionorinaction.Throughthisinconsistency,regrethelpspeopletolearnfromthepast.Consistentwiththisnotion,astudybyRoeseandSummerville(2005)highlightsthathumansrecognizeregretasapositiveinfluenceonfuturebehavior.Regretsignalsthatsomethinghasgonewrongandthatsomethingneedstochange.Regretcantriggerabehavioralresponsetoimprovecircumstancesandone’slife.Indeed,regretcanleadtoinstrumentalcorrectiveactions(e.g.,ConnollyandReb,2005a)andpromotepsychologicaladjustment(e.g.,Leccietal.,1994;ZeelenbergandPieters,2007;Saffreyetal.,2008),andchangesinlife(e.g.,Leccietal.,1994;StewartandVandewater,1999;Zeelenberg,1999;Beikeetal.,2009). Theliteraturethusindicatesthatregretcanleadtochange.Itplaysaroleinshapinglearningprocessesfrompastexperiencestothepresentandthefuture.Theemotionitselfisthenegativestingthatseemstomotivatelearningandchangeviainferencesandexpectations(e.g.,Saffreyetal.,2008).Thestingisanaffectiveexpressionoftheperceivedinconsistencybetweenone’sactionsorinactionsandone’ssubjectivelyrelevantgoals,thusaninconsistencyinpeople’ssenseofmeaning(e.g.,Heineetal.,2006).Understandingandresolvingsuchinconsistenciesshapesthesemeaningframeworksandcontributestoageneralsenseofmeaning.Themotivatedprocesstolearnfromandresolvetheinconsistenciesassociatedwithregretisessentiallyasearchformeaning(e.g.,Stegeretal.,2006). SearchforMeaning Recently,researchonmeaningmakingprocessesandtheirmotivationalcomponents(e.g.,BaumeisterandVohs,2002;Heineetal.,2006;VanTilburgandIgou,2018)foundthatpeoplesearchformeaninginthefaceofthreatstotheirmeaningsystems(Heineetal.,2006;Stegeretal.,2006).Thesethreatscanbeofanaffectivenature,suchasboredom(e.g.,VanTilburgandIgou,2012,2017a)ordisillusionment(e.g.,Maheretal.,2018).Thecognitiveprocessofmeaningsearchfollowsthegeneralneedtoarriveatgreaterinsightsintoone’sgoalandthefunctioningoftheworld(e.g.,Stegeretal.,2006;VanTilburgetal.,2013).Thesearchprocessisthusamotivatedcognitiveprocessdirectedatsourcesofmeaningwiththegoaltogainmoremeaning.Consistently,searchformeaningincreasessocialidentificationwithothers(e.g.,VanTilburgandIgou,2012),nostalgia(VanTilburgetal.,2013),relianceonpoliticalideologies(e.g.,VanTilburgandIgou,2016;Maheretal.,2018),andinspirationbyheroes(e.g.,Coughlanetal.,2017);eachprocessauguringagreatersenseofmeaning.Inshort,weposethatregretisanaffectiveexperiencethatisassociatedwithparticularchallengestoone’sgeneralsenseofmeaning,triggeringasearchformeaning. ProspectsofMeaning:HeroesandHeroism Heroesandheroismhavebeenessentialpartsofhumancivilizationas,forexample,reflectedintheheroicfiguresinancientmythologies(foranoverviewseeCampbell,2004).Inrecentyears,researchhasgivenconsiderableattentiontothenaturesofheroesandheroism,highlightingtheimpactofheroesatthelevelsofgroupsandindividuals(e.g.,SullivanandVenter,2005,2010;AllisonandGoethals,2011,2013;Kinsellaetal.,2015b;2017c;Allisonetal.,2017).Forexample,differenttypesofheroeshavebeendistinguished(e.g.,AllisonandGoethals,2013),prototypicalcharacteristicsofheroeshavebeenidentified(e.g.,Kinsellaetal.,2015b,2017a),andimportantsocialandpsychologicalfunctionsservedbyheroes–suchasenhancement,protection,andmoralguidance(e.g.,Kinsellaetal.,2015a)–havebeenreported. Heroesandheroismarepositivelyladenconceptsinfusedwithsuperordinatevaluesandadmirablebehaviors.Representationsofheroesdifferfromthoseofrolemodelsandleaders(Kinsellaetal.,2015b,2017b).Heroesandheroismstandoutwithregardtothemoralgoalsthatarepursuedandhowtheyarepursued,namelywithpersonalsacrificesandrisks.Heroesandheroicactsaregenerallyappreciated,inspiring,andcomfortingforgroupsandindividuals,especiallyinunsatisfactoryandthreateningtimes(e.g.,AllisonandGoethals,2011).Beliefsaboutheroesandheroismarewidelysharedandcentralinculturesandindividuals’lives(e.g.,Kinsellaetal.,2015b;BronkandBrian,2016). Inlinewiththisnotion,heroesandheroismaresourcesofmeaningandinspiration(e.g.,Früchtl,2009;BronkandBrian,2016;Greenetal.,2017;Kinsellaetal.,2017a),andsearchformeaningcanthusbelinkedtoperceptionsofheroesandheroismandassociatedinspiration.Weposethatthisprocessisespeciallyrelevantwhenthe“need”forheroesorheroismisrelativelypronounced.Forexample,Coughlanetal.(2017)illustratethisforboredom.Specifically,boredomreflectsmeaninglessnessofone’sactivitiesorevenlifeingeneral(e.g.,VanTilburgandIgou,2011a,2012,2016,2017a,b).Coughlanetal.arguedandfoundthatpeoplewhoarepronetoboredomholdmorepositiveperceptionsofculturalheroes(e.g.,Dr.MarinLutherKingJr.),namelyhowspecialandinspiringthepersonwas,howmuchtheyadmiredtheperson,andmuchthepersonwasofpersonalsignificanceandpurpose.Importantly,theassociationbetweenboredompronenessandtheseheroperceptionswasmediatedbysearchformeaninginlife.Thatis,boredom–anexperiencethatmotivatesasearchformeaning(VanTilburgandIgou,2011a,2012)–predictedgreaterappreciationofheroestotheextentthatboredominvolvedameaningsearch.Thepropositionthattheperceptionofheroesandheroismcanserveasaresponsetothreateningexperiencesisnotlimitedtoboredom;weproposethatregretisassociatedwithachallengetopeople’smeaningsystem:peoplefeelregretbecausetheirpastactionsorinactionsareinconsistentwiththeirgoals.Regretmotivatesacognitiveprocessthathelpsmakingsenseofthesituationandoneself.Giventhatheroesandheroismaresourcesofmeaning,wethusreasonedthatexperiencesofregretwouldtransferintoinspirationandshowthereadinesstoactheroicallyviaasearchformeaninginlife. StudyOverview Study1examinedtheproposedlinkbetweenregretandsearchformeaning.Specifically,Study1aexaminedtheassociationbetweenindividualdifferencesinregretandsearchformeaninginlife;Study1bexaminedindividualdifferencesinthegeneralformofregret,actionregret,andinactionregret,andsearchformeaninginlife.Study2adoptedacorrelationaldesigntotestatanindividualdifferenceleveltheeffectsofregretonthemotivationtobeheroicviasearchformeaninginlife.Study3adoptedanexperimentaldesigntotesttheeffectsofregretonheroismmotivationviameaningsearch.Inaddition,weexaminedtheeffectsofindividualdifferencesinself-enhancementneedsontherelationshipbetweenregretandheroismmotivation. Study1(A-B):RegretandMeaningSearch Weposethatregretisatleastpartlyassociatedwithexistentialprocesses,inthatitleadspeopletosearchformeaninginlife.Study1wasdesignedtotestifregretpredictedsearchformeaninginlife.Weexaminedwhetherthisprocessoccurredfortwoformsofregretoftendiscussedintheliterature,namelyactionandinactionregret(e.g.,Gilovichetal.,1998).Wepredictedthatregretwouldbeassociatedwithanincreaseinsearchformeaninginlife.Giventhatourapproachmakesnoassumptionsaboutthedifferencesbetweenactionsandinactions,weexpectedtheproposedeffectofregretonmeaningsearchforbothformsofregret. MaterialsandMethods ParticipantsandDesign Study1ainvestigatedtheassociationbetweenindividualdifferencesinregretandsearchformeaningusingacorrelationaldesign.Werecruited53participantsviatheonlineportalMechanicalTurk(MTurk1;intheUnitedStatesandinIndia).Oneparticipantwasexcludedbecauseofmissingdata,resultinginatotalof52participants(32male,20female;Mage=35.9years;43USAmerican,9Indian).Study1bhadacorrelationaldesignmeasuringgeneralregret,actionregret,inactionregretandmeaningsearch.Werecruited156participantsresidingintheUnitedStatesonMTurk.Twoparticipantswereexcludedbecausetheywereextremeoutliersintimespentonthequestionnaire,leavingatotalof154participants(90female,64male;Mage=34.9). MaterialsandProcedure WeprogrammedthestudiesusingtheonlinecomputersurveyprogramQuestback;datawerecollectedusingtheMTurkrecruitmentplatform.Aftersigningconsentforms,participantsreporteddemographicinformation. InStudy1a,wenextadministeredthefive-itemregretscale(e.g.,WhenIthinkabouthowI’mdoinginlife,IoftenassessopportunitiesIhavepassedup;α=0.77;Schwartzetal.,2002),rangingfrom1(completelydisagree)to7(completelyagree),andthemeaninginlifequestionnaire(MLQ;Stegeretal.,2006),withthetwofive-itemsubscalesmeasuringsearchformeaninginlife(e.g.,Iamseekingapurposeormissioninmylife;α=0.96)andpresenceofmeaninginlife(α=0.96),usingscalesfrom1(absolutelyuntrue)to7(absolutelytrue).Tocontrolforageneralformofaffect,weincludedthefour-itemsubjectivehappinessscale(LyubomirskyandLepper,1999;α=0.75;usingseven-pointscales,seeSupplementaryMaterialsdetails),andforexploratoryreasonsweincludedthe20-itemdesirabilityofcontrolscale(BurgerandCooper,1979;α=0.75)rangingfrom1(statementdoesnotapplytome)to7(statementalwaysappliedtome)2.Thescaleswerepresentedinthisorder:desirabilityofcontrolscale,regretscale,MLQ,globalsubjectivehappinessscale. InStudy1b,weadministeredfour-itemmeasuresofactionandinactionregret(α=0.93foreachscale):Howproneareyoutofeelingregretaboutanaction(inaction)?;Howoftendoyouexperienceregretaboutanaction(inaction)?;Generallyspeaking,howoftendoyoufeelregretaboutanaction(inaction)?(1=notatall/never,7=verymuch/allthetime);Specifically,howoftendoyoufeelregret?(1=onceortwiceayear,7=atleastonceaday).Wethenadministeredtheregretscale(α=0.82;Schwartzetal.,2002)andsubsequentlythesearchforandpresenceofmeaninginlifescales(bothα=0.94)oftheMLQ(Stegeretal.,2006)3. Afterward,participantsinbothstudiesweredebriefedandrewardedwith€0.50fortheirparticipation. ResultsandDiscussion InStudy1a,regretcorrelatedwithsearchformeaninginlife(r=0.50,p<0.001).Regretdidnotcorrelatesignificantlywithpresenceofmeaninginlife(r=-0.14,p=0.31).Searchforandpresenceofmeaninginlifedidnotcorrelatesignificantlywitheachother(r=-0.20,p=0.15).Happinesscorrelatedwithregretnegatively(r=-0.46,p<0.001)andwithpresenceofmeaninginlifepositively(r=0.67,p<0.001).Whenweconductedapartialcorrelationwithregretandsearchformeaninginlifewhilecontrollingforhappiness,westillobservedthepredictedcorrelation(r=0.48,p<0.001).Thisresultconfirmedourpredictionthathigher(vs.lower)levelsofregretwereassociatedwithhigher(vs.lower)levelsofsearchformeaninginlife.Noothercorrelationsweresignificant4,5. ReplicatingresultsofStudy1a,inStudy1bwefoundthatregretscalescorescorrelatedwithsearchformeaninginlifescores(r=0.40,p<0.001).Wealsofoundpositiveassociationsbetweensearchformeaninginlifeandactionregret(r=0.23,p=0.004)andinactionregret(r=0.20,p=0.014),inparticular.Inaddition,presenceofmeaninginlifecorrelatednegativelywithsearchformeaninginlife(r=-0.26,p=0.001).Meaningpresencealsocorrelatednegativelywithallregretmeasures,theregretscale(r=-0.31,p<0.001),actionregret(r=-0.23,p=0.005),andinactionregret(r=-0.17,p=0.03),indicatingaweaknegativeassociationbetweenmeaningpresenceanddifferentformsofregret6. Insum,theresultsofStudy1(aandb)demonstratethatregretisassociatedwithsearchformeaninginlife.Specifically,higherlevelsofregretwereassociatedwithhigherlevelsofmeaningsearch.Addressingthedistinctionintheliteraturebetweenactionandinactionregret,ourresultsshowthatbothoftheseformsofregretareassociatedwithsearchformeaninginlife.Theseresultssupportthehypothesisthatregrethasexistentialqualitiesbybeingassociatedwithsearchformeaninginlife.Althoughnotcentraltoourexamination,wenoteratherinconsistenteffectsacrossStudies1aand1bfortheassociationbetweenregretandpresenceofmeaninginlife.Presumably,thisspeakstothenatureofregretasacomplexhumanexperiencethatindicatesreducedpurposeinone’sbehaviorbutatthesametimecommunicatescausalitiesandresponsibilitiesforactionsorinactionthusprovidingsomelevelofepistemicmeaning. Thefollowingstudiesexaminedtherelationshipbetweenregretandheroismmotivation,andthepredictedmediatingroleofsearchformeaninginlife. Study2:IndividualDifferencesinRegretandHeroismMotivation Study2testedwhetherindividualdifferencesinregretareassociatedwiththemotivationtoactheroically,andwhetherthisassociationwouldbemediatedbysearchformeaninginlife.Essentially,weproposethatpeoplepronetoregretexperiencessearchformeaninginlife,andthatthissearchinturnpredictsthemotivationtoengageinheroicactivities,asourceofmeaning(e.g.,Kinsellaetal.,2017b;Coughlanetal.,2017).Weincludedameasurementforpeople’smoodtocontrolforpeople’saffectivestateasavariablethatcouldtheoreticallyaccountfortheproposedregreteffectsonmeaningsearchandheroismmotivation. MaterialsandMethods ParticipantsandDesign Werecruited122participantsresidingintheUnitedStatesonMTurk.Duetonon-completionandmissingdataofsomeparticipants,11participantswereexcludedfromthedataset,resultinginatotalof111participants(62female,49male,3unspecified;Mage=38.14;106USAmericans,1Canadian,1British,1Irish,1Montenegrin,1unspecified).Forthiscorrelationalstudy,werewardedparticipantswith$0.40. ProcedureandMaterials Afterprovidinginformedconsent,participantsreporteddemographicinformation(ethnicity,gender,age).Next,theyworkedontwoitemsmeasuringparticipants’mood(r=0.94,p<0.001),Howisyourmood?measuredonascalefrom1(verybad)to7(verygood),andHowdoyoufeel?measuredonascalefrom1(verysad)to7(veryhappy).Participantsthenfilledouttheregretscale(α=0.82;Schwartzetal.,2002;Study1)andthenthesearchformeaninginlifescale(Stegeretal.,2006;Study1)aswellastwoitemswithusingtheidenticalscalethatrelatetosearchformeaningfulactivities,IamalwayslookingtodothingsthataremeaningfulandIamseekingtodothingsthathavemeaningformeandothers.Wereasonedthataddingitemsonactivitieswouldbeadequateinthecontextofheroicactivities.Theresultantseven-itemscalewashighlyreliable(α=0.95). Next,participantscompletedafour-itemmeasureofheroismmotivation(α=0.90).Specifically,theywereinstructedtothinkabouttheirlife,whotheywanttobe,whattheywanttobeknownfor.Theythenindicatedtheiragreementtothestatements,IwanttobehaveheroicallytowardsothersifitisnecessaryandIhavetheopportunitytodoso;Itisimportanttometobeseenassomeonewhocanactheroically;Istrivetobeaheroforotherpeople,ifthesituationrequiressomeonetostepup;Itissignificanttomylifetobeseenassomeonewhohasthequalitiesofahero,onscalesfrom1(notatall)to5(verymuch).Afterward,participantswerethanked,debriefed,andrewarded. ResultsandDiscussion Regretcorrelatedwithsearchformeaninginlife(r=0.35,p<0.001)andwithheroismmotivation(r=0.21,p=0.025).Meaningsearchcorrelatedwithheroismmotivation(r=0.31,p=0.001).Moodcorrelatednegativelywithregret(r=-0.28,p=0.003)andwasnotsignificantlycorrelatedwithsearchformeaning(r=-0.06,p=0.520). Weproceededtoexaminetheindirectassociationbetweenregretandheroismmotivationviasearchformeaning.Toestimatethis,weusedPROCESS(Version3;Hayes,2018),Model4(10,000bootstraps),whereregretwasenteredasthepredictor,meaningsearchasthemediator,andheroismmotivationasthecriterion.Regrethadatotaleffectonheroismmotivation,B=0.18,SE=0.08,t(109)=2.27,p=0.025,95%Cl[0.022,0.328],buttherewasnosignificantdirecteffect,B=0.10,SE=0.08,t(109)=1.20,p=0.23,95%Cl[-0.063,0.254].Mostimportantly,weobservedthepredictedindirecteffectofregretonheroismmotivationthoughmeaningsearchevenwhencontrollingformoodbyaddingthemeasureasacovariate,B=0.08,SE=0.04,95%Cl[0.009,0.163](Figure1).Whenweaddedmoodasacovariatetotheanalysis,regrethadatotaleffectonheroismmotivationofB=0.27,SE=0.07,t(108)=3.59,p<0.001,95%Cl[0.119,0.413]andadirecteffectonheroismmotivationofB=0.19,SE=0.08,t(108)=2.47,p=0.01,95%Cl[0.038,0.342].Thecovariate,mood,hadadirecteffectonheroismmotivation,B=0.33,SE=0.07,t(107)=4.46,p<0.001,95%Cl[0.182,0.472].Mostimportantly,weobservedthepredictedindirecteffectofregretonheroismmotivationthoughmeaningsearchevenwhencontrollingformoodbyaddingthemeasureasacovariate,B=0.8,SE=0.04,95%Cl[0.009,0.164]. FIGURE1 FIGURE1.Mediationmodelofregret,meaningsearch,andheroismmotivation(Study2).∗p≤0.05,∗∗p≤0.01,∗∗∗p≤0.001;indirecteffectofregretonheroismmotivationthroughmeaningsearch:B=0.08,SE=0.04,95%CI[0.007,0.174]. Individualdifferencesinthemotivationtoactheroicallywereassociatedwithindividualdifferencesinregret.Inpart,thisrelationshipwasplausiblyduetopeople’ssearchformeaninginlife,aspredicted.People’smoodwasrelatedtoregretandtoheroismmotivation,however,theseassociationswereunrelatedtothefocaltestinquestion.Inthefollowingstudy,weexaminedtherelationshipbetweenthetemporaryexperienceofregretonheroismmotivationandthepredictedmediatingroleofsearchformeaninginlife. Study3:TemporaryRegretExperiencesandHeroismMotivation ThegoalofStudy3wastoexaminethecausalrelationshipbetweenregretandpeople’smotivationtoactheroically.Giventhatregretpromotesasearchformeaninginlifeandthatheroismisasourceofmeaning,wearguethatregretincreasesthemotivationtoengageinheroicacts.Weexaminedthishypothesisexperimentallybymanipulatingregretandmeasuringheroismmotivation. Inaddition,weexaminedwhethertheeffectcouldbeexplainedbyself-enhancementneeds.Needsforself-enhancementandmotivatedactionsservingthemarecentralinhumans(foranoverviewseeAlickeandSedikides,2010).Morespecifically,ourhypothesisrestsonthefindingthatheroesserveparticularsocialandpsychologicalfunctionslistedbyKinsellaetal.(2015a),whoarguethatheroeshaveaprotectivefunction,givemoralguidance,andserveanenhancementfunction.Weinterpretenhancementinthecontextofheroismmotivationasthestrategytoenhancetheselfviaheroicactions.Thisargumentisconsistentwiththeliteratureonpro-socialbehavior,whichreportsthatatleastsomepro-socialactsserveself-enhancementneeds(e.g.,Batson,1987).Self-enhancementhasseveralcomponents(e.g.,Hepperetal.,2010),andwefocusedinparticularonpeople’sstrategiestoconstruesituationsfavorablyandtoaffirmtheself,especiallywhenencounteringchallengestotheself.Thesestrategiesmatchthechallengeofregretexperiencesandarefunctionalfortheengagementwiththesocialenvironmentviaratherextremepro-socialactivitiessuchasheroism(e.g.,Francoetal.,2011).Wethusaddedanindividualdifferencemeasureofself-enhancementtoexaminewhetherheroismmotivationincreasedwhenexperiencingregretinparticularforparticipantswithahighneedforself-enhancementcomparedtothosewithalowneedforself-enhancement. MaterialsandMethods ParticipantsandDesign Werecruited255participantsthroughMTurk.Duetonon-completionandmissingdata,25participantswereexcludedfromthedataset,resultinginatotalof230(female=127,male=100,other=3;Mage=39.7).Weexperimentallymanipulatedregretandthenmeasuredheroismmotivation,meaningsearch,andself-enhancement;accordingly,participantswererandomlyassignedtoeithertheregretconditionorthecontrolcondition.Theywererewarded$0.41fortheirparticipation. ProcedureandMaterials Afterprovidinginformedconsent,participantsreportedtheirdemographics.Thentheyworkedontheregretinductiontaskandthemanipulationcheckitems.Weinducedregretusinganautobiographicalrecallprocedure(e.g.,LernerandKeltner,2001;MartinezandZeelenberg,2015).Thisprocedureisbasedonthenotionthatrememberingparticularepisodesactivatestheaffectiveexperiencesthatareassociatedwiththesememories.Specifically,intheexperimentalcondition,inaboxappearingonthescreen,participantsdescribedasituationwhentheyexperienced‘thebiggestregretintheirlife’inatleastthreesentencessothatotherswouldbeabletounderstandtheexperience.Wethenaskedthemtoreportthephysicalreactiontothesituationandhowitfeltinasecondboxthatappearedonthescreen.Inthecontrolcondition,participantsdescribedan“everydaylifeexperiencewhennothingspecialhappened,adaywithmundaneactivitiesandevents”inthefirstboxandthephysicalreactionsandhowtheyfeltinthesecondbox.Allparticipantsthencompletedmanipulationcheckitems(r=0.93,p<0.001),BythinkingofthesituationthatIjustdescribed,feelingsofregretariseinmeandHowmuchregretdoyoufeelrightnow?Respondingonscalesfrom1(notatall)to7(verymuch).Then,wepresentedtwofilleritemsunrelatedtotheresearchquestionsinordertoreducethelikelihoodofdemandcharacteristicsinresponsetothefocalquestions.Weaskedforthelikingofthecolorandshapeofacar(CitroënC4Cactus)usingscalesfrom1(notatall)to7(verymuch). Afterward,participantsrespondedtothesevenitemsmeasuringacutesearchformeaninginlifebasedonthemeasureusedinStudy2(e.g.,Rightnow,Ifeellikelookingforsomethingthatwouldmakemylifemeaningful;Atthismoment,Ifeellikeseekingapurposeormissioninmylife).Theresultantscalewashighlyreliable(α=0.94).Followingtheseitems,participantsworkedonaself-enhancementmeasuresuitableforthisstudy.Weusedthebriefself-enhancementandself-protectionscale(Hepperetal.,2010),adaptingitemsfromthetwosubscalesthatmeasurefavorableconstrualandself-affirmingreflections(α=0.93).Participantsindicatedtheiragreementonascalefrom1(low)to6(high)toitemssuchas,“Lookingback,IbelievethatIhavebeenchanging,growing,andimprovingasaperson,”“Iamawareofmyvaluesandwhatmatterstome.”Wedidnotincludeitemsoftheothertwosubscales,positivityembracementanddefensiveness,aswedeemedthemrathersecondaryinthecontextofheroism(seeSupplementaryMaterialsforthemeasure). Next,participantscompletedtheheroismmotivationmeasure(α=0.93;seeStudy2).Afterward,theywerethanked,debriefed,andrewarded. ResultsandDiscussion Participantsintheregretconditionfeltmoreregretthanparticipantsinthecontrolcondition(M=5.67,SD=1.37vs.M=1.89,SD=1.44),t(228)=20.40,p<0.001,d=1.80,indicatingthatthemanipulationwassuccessful.Participantswithhigherlevelsofregretindicatedastrongermotivationtosearchformeaninginlifethanparticipantsinthecontrolcondition(M=4.61,SD=1.65vs.M=4.13,SD=1.69),t(228)=2.16,p=0.03,d=0.29.Participantsintheregretconditionindicatedahigherlevelofheroismmotivationthanparticipantsinthecontrolcondition,however,thisdifferencewasonlymarginallysignificant(M=3.50,SD=1.07vs.M=3.23,SD=1.09),t(228)=1.88,p=0.06,d=0.25.Searchformeaninginlifewaspositivelycorrelatedwithheroismmotivation(r=0.35,p<0.001).Individualdifferenceinself-enhancementwereunaffectedbyregret(t>1),uncorrelatedwithsearchformeaning(r=-0.03,p=0.69)butcorrelatedpositivelywithheroismmotivation(r=0.25,p<0.001). Inthenextstep,weexaminedtheindirecteffectofregretonheroismviasearchformeaningandthemoderatingroleofself-enhancement.Forthis,weusedPROCESS(Version3;Hayes,2018),Model5(10,000bootstraps),whichtestedthemediationaleffectofregretonheroismmotivationviasearchformeaninginlifeandthemoderatingeffectofself-enhancementonheroismmotivationinconjunctionwithregret(Figure2).Wefoundthatregretaffectedheroismmotivationviasearchformeaninginlife,B=0.10,SE=0.05,95%Cl[0.008,0.212].Inaddition,independentlyofthemediationeffectbymeaningsearch,regretaffectedheroismmotivationmorestronglyforparticipantswithhighself-enhancementneeds,B=0.49,SE=0.20,t(225)=2.44,p=0.02,95%Cl[0.095,0.885],thanforparticipantswithmediumandlowself-enhancementneeds,B=0.22,SE=0.13,t(225)=1.70,p=0.09,95%Cl[-0.036,0.485]andB=-0.11,SE=0.19,t=-0.56,p=0.58,95%[-0.484,0.270],indicatedbyasignificantinteractionofregretandself-enhancement,B=0.33,SE=0.16,t(225)=2.04,p=0.043,95%CL[0.011,0.652]. FIGURE2 FIGURE2.Integratedmediationandmoderationmodelofregret,meaningsearch,self-enhancement,andheroismmotivation(Study3).∗p≤0.05,∗∗p≤0.01,∗∗∗p≤0.001;indirecteffectofregretonheroismmotivationthroughmeaningsearch:B=0.10,SE=0.05,95%CI[0.008,0.212];conditioneffectofregretandself-enhancementonheroismmotivation:B=0.33,SE=0.16,95%CI[0.011,0.652]. Insum,theseresultsdemonstratethatregretaffectsheroismmotivation,butthatthiseffecthastwoimportantcharacteristics.Crucialfortheoverarchinghypothesisofthecurrentwork,theseheroismeffectsarepartlyexplainedbypeople’ssearchformeaninginlife.Thesecondcharacteristicisthatregretcanalsoaffectheroismmotivationdirectly,forpeoplewhohavehighneedsforself-enhancement,specificallyfavorableconstrualsofsituationsandself-affirmingreflections. GeneralDiscussion Wetestedifregretincreasesthemotivationtoengageinheroicactivities.Wearguethat,inpart,regretisanexistentialexperienceinthatitmotivatespeopletosearchformeaninginlife.Weposethatitis,inpart,thisexistentialprocessthatisresponsibleforpeople’sheroismmotivationinresponsetoregret. InStudy1aand1b,strongerregretwasassociatedwithelevatedsearchformeaninginlife.Thisassociationheldforactionregretaswellasforinactionregretaftercontrollingforgeneralhappiness.Study2wentbeyondStudy1byexaminingtheassociationbetweenregret,searchformeaninginlife,andheroismmotivation.Aspredicted,individualdifferencesinregretpredictedindividualdifferencesinheroismmotivation.Importantly,thiseffectwasmediatedbysearchformeaninginlife.Thismediationaleffectremainedreliableaftercontrollingforparticipants’moodstate.Study3wentbeyondStudy2byexaminingtemporaryexperiencesofregretonsearchformeaninginlifeandheroismmotivation,andbyalsoconsideringself-enhancementneedsandtheireffectonheroismmotivation.Aspredicted,temporaryregretaffectedheroismmotivationthroughsearchformeaninginlife.Wealsofoundthatparticipantswithhighself-enhancementneedsweremoremotivatedtoactheroicallythanthosewithlowself-enhancementneedsandthatthiswasparticularlythecasewhenparticipantsexperiencedregret.Importantly,theexistentialroadfromregrettoheroismmotivationwasindependentofparticipantsself-enhancementneeds. Heroism Inrecentyears,researchersfromdifferentacademicareashaveexaminedthecharacteristicofheroes,thefunctionsofheroes,andconditionsofheroism(foranoverviewseeAllisonetal.,2017).Ourresearchexaminedthemotivationtoactheroicallyasafunctionofanimportantexperienceinlife:regret.Theresultsdemonstratethatthenegativeexperienceofregretcanfosterheroismmotivation,thusincreasingthelikelihoodforpeopletodisplayheroicactions.Inthatsense,anegativeexperienceincreasesthechancesofpro-socialoutcomes.Ourresearchsupportsthehypothesisthatregretexperiencesleavepeoplewithaneedtofindmeaningintheirlivesandthatbehavingheroicallyprovidesanopportunitytore-establishmeaning.Thisisconsistentwiththenotionthatheroismisasourceofmeaning,potentiallyplayingarolewhenpeopleregulatetheirsenseofmeaning(e.g.,Coughlanetal.,2017;Greenetal.,2017;Kinsellaetal.,2017b).Ourresearchalsoshowsthatpeoplewhohavehighself-enhancementneeds,inourcasethosewithastronginclinationtoconstruesituationsfavorablyandtoaffirmtheself,arerelativelymotivatedtoactheroicallywhenexperiencingregret(Study3).Wealsofoundthatindividualdifferencesinmoodpredictedheroismmotivation,suchthatpeoplewithhigherpositivemoodweremoremotivatedinthisregard(Study2).Takentogether,ourresearchmakesanimportantcontributiontotheliteratureontransformationsoflifeinformofherojourneysthatpeoplemayundertake(e.g.,AllisonandGoethals,2011)andtheongoingpursuitofunderstandinghowthepersonandthesituationcontributetoheroism(e.g.,BronkandBrian,2016). RegretandExistentialism Regretexperiencesareimportantandfunctionalforactions(e.g.,RoeseandEpstude,2017;ZeelenbergandPieters,2007)andlifeingeneral(StewartandVandewater,1999;Timmeretal.,2005).Importantly,regretfacilitateslearningprocesseswhereperceivedmistakesorwrongdoingsofthepastcanbeavoidedandbehaviorcanbeimproved(e.g.,Zeelenberg,1999;ZeelenbergandPieters,2007;CoricelliandRustichini,2010).Ourstudiesaddtothisnotiontheexistentialcomponentofsearchingformeaninginlife,amotivationthatisdirectedtoestablishahighersenseofmeaning.Webelievethatisitcrucialtoconsiderthispsychologicalvariable,asithasbeenshowntobecentralinregulatingmeaning(e.g.,Bruner,1990;Stegeretal.,2006).Therobustrelationshipwefoundforindividualdifferencesinregretandmeaningsearchaswellasfortemporaryexperiencesofregretandmeaningsearchenablesamorepreciseprocess-orientedperspectiveonthepotentialconsequencesofregret,whensearchformeaninginlifeislikelytobeinvolved. LimitationsandFutureResearch Weacknowledgethatourstudieshaveanumberoflimitations.Thelinktoheroismthatweexaminedisconstrainedbyanexplicit,self-reportedmotivationtoengageinheroicactivitiesandtobeseenasheroicbyothers.Althoughitwouldhavebeenidealtotesttheeffectswitharangeofheroismmeasures,wefoundtheeffectsofregretonheroismmotivationviasearchformeaninginlifeseemtoberobustacrosstwostudies(Study2and3).Futureresearchneedstoincludeothermeasuresofmotivationstoactheroicallyandheroism,suchastheinspirationbyheroes(e.g.,Coughlanetal.,2017)andactualheroicbehavior.Theheroismmotivationthatwemeasuredcouldserveasacrucialprocessvariablewhenexaminingheroicactionortheeffectsofinspirationbyheroes. Withregardtoactualbehavior,wearecautiousastowhethersearchformeaninginlifewouldhaveastrongeffectinacomplexsocialenvironment.Itmightbethatothervariablessuchasself-enhancementmayneedtobepresentinordertoevoketheeffectofregretonactualheroism.Study3mightgiveanideaonhowmultiplevariablescouldbeinvolvedandrelated.WenotethattheexperimentalinductioninStudy3islimitedbypotentiallyraisingparticularissuesofpastexperiencesintheexperimentaland/orthecontrolconditions.Relatedly,inthisstudy,wedidnotcontrolforadditionalaffectiveexperiencesthatmighthavebeenactivatedbytheinductionprocedure. Ourstudiesfocusedonsearchformeaninginlifeasthecrucialmediatingvariablethatexplainsatleastinparttherelationshipbetweenregretandheroismmotivation.Inthisrespect,regretqualifiesasanaffectiveexperiencethatinitiatesanexistentialprocess.Theregretexperienceitselfisbasedonperceivedinconsistencieswithinone’smeaningframeworks,second-guessingone’sactionorinactionbyconsideringalternativecoursesofactionthatmayhavebeenmoreadequate.Itwouldthusbeconceivablethatdwellingonregretsisassociatedwithareducedsenseofmeaninginlife.Althoughnotcentraltoourexamination,ourresultsdonotsuggestthatregretexperiencesprofoundlyreduceasenseofmeaninginlife.Itmightbemorecomplicated.Possibly,lackofmeaningismorestronglyassociatedwiththecognitivefoundationofregretthanwiththeexperienceitself.Or,twodifferentqualitiesofmeaningmayneedtobeconsidered.Teleologicalmeaningreferstothepurposeofmeaninginlife,whileepistemicmeaningreferstothegeneralunderstandingofsituations,theself,others,andtheworldingeneral(e.g.,Heineetal.,2006;VanTilburgandIgou,2011b,2013).Itispossiblethatregretexperiencesmaterializebecauseofanincreasedunderstandingthatone’sactionsorinactionsdivertedfromone’sgoalsandobjectivesandthatalternativeactionsorinactionswereavailable.Inthatsense,epistemicmeaningmightbeprovided,atleasttosomedegree.However,regretexperiencesraisetheissueoffallingshortcomparedtoone’simportantgoalsinlife.Thisdiscrepancymightwellreduceaperceivedpurposeinlife.Futureresearchshouldexaminehowregretaffectsepistemicvs.teleologicalmeaningandwhetherthemeaningsearchprocessesthatwehighlightareresponsestothreatsofoneorbothofthesemeaningframeworks. Althoughourresearchfocusesonsearchformeaninginlifeasamediatingvariablebetweenregretexperiencesandheroismmotivation,wedonotruleoutconsequencesofregretexperiencesthatmightbelargelyunrelatedtomeaningsearch(e.g.,feelingdepressedoranxious).Ourresearchisembeddedintheliteratureandbuildsinpartonourpreviousresearchonexistentialexperiencesandheroes(e.g.,Coughlanetal.,2017;Kinsellaetal.,2017a).Additionally,accompanyingpsychologicalprocessesarequitepossibleandworthyofinvestigation.Weproposethatfutureresearchexaminesthecausesofregret,thetemporaldistanceofregrettoheroismmotivationandaction,arangeofmediatorsasidefrommeaningsearch(e.g.,self-presentation,socialdesirability),variousindicatorsofheroism(motivationandaction),andconsequencesofregret-basedheroism(e.g.,self-esteem,perceptionsofpersonalgrowth,well-being).Individualdifferencesinarangeofqualities(e.g.,morality,self-enhancement,self-improvement,socialdesirability)seemalsoimportant,potentiallyfunctioningasmoderatorsbetweenregretandheroism,astheresultsofStudy3suggest.Inthisregard,itshouldbenotedthatregretintensityseemstobeassociatedwithself-esteemcontingency(i.e.,instability,fragility),especiallyiftheeventsinvolvedseemcontrollable(Wilkinsonetal.,2015).Itmightthusbeworthexaminingwhether,andunderwhichconditions,self-esteemcontingencycanmotivatepeopletoengageinheroicactswhentheyexperienceregrets.Finally,contextsmayormaynotgiverisetoheroism.Moreimportantly,somecontextsmaygiverisetoheroismbasedonparticularpsychologicalprocesses(e.g.,searchformeaning,self-enhancement,socialdesirability)whileothercontextsgiverisetoheroismbasedondifferentpsychologicalprocesses.Futureresearchneedstoaddresstheselinksingeneralandalsowithregardtothespecificlinkbetweenregretandheroism. AllofourstudieswereconductedonMTurk.Certainly,thevalidityofonlinestudiesisoftenlimitedduetothelackofexperimentalcontrolandothertechnicalconstraints(e.g.,ZhouandFishbach,2016).Despitetheselimitations,theresultswereconsistentacrossaseriesofstudiesusingdifferentdesigns,thussupportingthenotionthatourstudieswereadequatefortestingourhypotheses.However,futureresearchshouldexaminethelinkbetweenregretandheroismusingarangeofprocedures,suchasdifferentinvestigativemethods(e.g.,computerlabstudy,paperandpencilquestionnaire),differentrecruitmentproceduresofparticipants(e.g.,participantpool,volunteers),accompaniedbysamplesfromdifferentpopulationsofparticipants(cultures,socioeconomicstatus). ConclusionsandImplications Thisresearchprovidesimportantinsightsintoboththeexistentialnatureofregretanditsimpactonheroism.Toourknowledge,thesestudiesprovidefirstevidencethatregretpredictssearchformeaninginlifeandthatitencouragesheroicbehavior.Importantly,thisresearchshowshowthenegativeexperienceofregretincreasesmotivationstoengageinextremeformsofpro-socialbehavior,namelyheroism.Theseresultsfurthersupportthenotionthathumanbeingsaredrivenbyexistentialmotivesandthatheroism–asourceofmeaning–canresultfromexistentialmotivations.Thisresearchprovidesthebasisforfurtherexaminationofdifferentformsofheroismandheroicbehaviorasafunctionofregretexperiences. DataAvailability ThedatasetscollectedandanalyzedforthisstudycanbefoundintheOpenScienceFrameworkrepository.https://osf.io/c8zar. EthicsStatement Thisstudywascarriedoutinaccordancewiththerecommendationsof“EHSGuidelinesforethicsresearchbyEducationandHealthScienceResearchEthicsCommittee(EHSREC)”andthePsychiatry,Nursing,andMidwiferyResearchEthicsCommitteeMinimalRiskRoute(PNM-RECMinimalRiskRoute)withwritteninformedconsentfromallsubjects.AllsubjectsgavewritteninformedconsentinaccordancewiththeDeclarationofHelsinki.Theprotocolwasapprovedbythe“EducationandHealthScienceResearchEthicsCommittee”andthe“Psychiatry,Nursing,andMidwiferyResearchEthicsCommitteeMinimalRiskRoute.” AuthorContributions EIdevelopedtherationaleforthisresearch,wasinvolvedinthedesignofallstudiesandtheanalysesoftheirresults,conductedStudies2and3,andwrotethemanuscript.WvTcontributedtotherationaleoftheresearch,conductedStudy1b,andrevisedthemanuscript.EKcontributedtotherationaleoftheresearchandrevisedthemanuscript.LBconductedStudy1aaspartofherfinalyearproject(bachelorthesis)andrevisedthemanuscript. ConflictofInterestStatement Theauthorsdeclarethattheresearchwasconductedintheabsenceofanycommercialorfinancialrelationshipsthatcouldbeconstruedasapotentialconflictofinterest. Acknowledgments WethankSarahSheehanforhersupportinconductingStudy3. SupplementaryMaterial SubjectiveHappinessScale(LyubomirskyandLepper,1999);Self-EnhancementNeedsScaleadaptedfromHepperetal.(2010).https://osf.io/c8zar Footnotes ^www.mturk.com ^Searchforandpresenceofpresenceofmeaninginlifeusuallyhaveasmallnegativecorrelations,reflectingthatthesevariablesrepresentlargelydifferentpsychologicalprocessesofpeople’smeaningsystem(e.g.,Stegeretal.,2006).Giventhatitwasconceptuallyunclearwhetherpresenceofmeaningimpactsonheroismmotivationandhowitrelatedtoregret(seesectionLimitationsandFutureResearch),wehadnoclearpredictionsformeaningpresenceandheroismmotivation,andthustreatedmeaningpresenceasanexploratoryvariable.Twooftheauthorsdiscussedthepotentialroleofthedesirabilityofcontrolanddecidedtoincludethemeasureforexploratoryreasons. ^Forexploratoryreasons,weaddedathree-itemmeasureofnostalgia(e.g.,Iamfeelingquitenostalgic;scalefrom1[notatall]to6[verymuch];α=0.98)attheendofthequestionnaire. ^ToaddresspotentialconcernsabouttherelativelylowparticipantnumberinStudy1a,weconductedanotherstudyonMTurkwith100participants(livingintheUnitedStates;55female,24male;Mage=38.3).Itconsistedofabatteryofscales,includingtheregretscale(Schwartzetal.,2002)andsearchformeaninginlifescale(Stegeretal.,2006).Thepositiveassociationofregretandmeaningsearchwasreplicated(r=0.40,p<0.001). ^Desirabilityofcontrolhadnosignificantassociationwithanyvariable(allp’s>0.23). ^Nostalgiacorrelatedwithpresenceofmeaninginlife(r=0.18,p<0.05),consistentwiththeliterature(e.g.,VanTilburgetal.,2013). 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Received:14August2018;Accepted:12November2018;Published:03December2018. Editedby: ScottT.Allison,UniversityofRichmond,UnitedStates Reviewedby: JeffreyD.Green,VirginiaCommonwealthUniversity,UnitedStates MeredithRiaWilkinson,DeMontfortUniversity,UnitedKingdom Copyright©2018Igou,vanTilburg,KinsellaandBuckley.Thisisanopen-accessarticledistributedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense(CCBY).Theuse,distributionorreproductioninotherforumsispermitted,providedtheoriginalauthor(s)andthecopyrightowner(s)arecreditedandthattheoriginalpublicationinthisjournaliscited,inaccordancewithacceptedacademicpractice.Nouse,distributionorreproductionispermittedwhichdoesnotcomplywiththeseterms. *Correspondence:EricR.Igou,[email protected] COMMENTARY ORIGINALARTICLE Peoplealsolookedat SuggestaResearchTopic>