People feel worse about a negative outcome if they did not act, rather than if they chose to act.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is a phenomenon known as the "omission bias" or the "inaction inertia." People tend to feel more regret and responsibility for negative outcomes when they did not take action to prevent them, compared to situations where they took action but the outcome was still negative. This is because people often believe that not acting is less morally responsible than acting, even if the outcome would have been the same.

People Feel Worse About a Negative Outcome If They Did