Pity the Educated Man for He Shall Be Remorseful

New research on regret tells us about the causes of our biggest sorrows. In order of anguish, we regret things related to romance, then family, education, career, finance and parenting. Those are the top six sources of regret. Turns out the more educated people are, the more likely they are to feel pangs of remorse.

Women, who tend to value social relationships more than men, have more regrets of love (romance, family) compared to men. Conversely, men were more likely to have work-related (career, education) regrets. Those who lack either higher education or a romantic relationship hold the most regrets in precisely these areas.

Americans with high levels of education had the most career-related regrets. Apparently, the more education obtained, the more acute may be the sensitivity to aspiration and fulfillment. Moreover, the youngest and least-educated people in our sample, who most likely possess the greatest capability of fixing their regrets, were indeed the most likely to provide fixable regrets.

[via Mindhacks]

[Photo credit: Kellogg School of Management]