The Effect of Making a Prediction about the Outcome of a Consumption Experience on the Enjoyment of That Experience

Does predicting the outcome of an uncertain event enhance the enjoyment of observing that event? The current popularity of office pools, spoiler message boards, and online betting Web sites seems to suggest that the act of prediction increases enjoyment. However, in a series of four experiments, we find that consumers who make predictions about uncertain events enjoy observing those events significantly less than those who do not make predictions, despite consumers' expectations to the contrary. We explain our results in terms of anticipated regret. In fact, removing the source of anticipated regret eliminates the negative effect of prediction on enjoyment. (c) 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..