Tolerance and indifference bands in regret–rejoice choice models: extension to market segmentation in the context of mode choice behavior

Random regret minimization models (RRMs), based on seminal work in regret theory, have been introduced into transportation research as an alternative to expected/random utility models. With ample applications in diverse choice contexts, the RRMs have been extended to include the effect of “rejoice,” the counterpart of the emotion of regret. The fundamental assumption of regret–rejoice models is that when the chosen alternative is inferior to non-chosen alternatives with respect to an attribute, individuals feel regret; otherwise, if the chosen alternative is superior to non-chosen alternatives, individuals rejoice. The regret and rejoice functions are assumed to be continuous in attribute differences. However, individuals may tolerate small attribute differences when judging regret and be indifferent to small differences when assessing rejoice. This paper therefore introduces tolerance and indifference bands in random regret–rejoice choice models, and compares the performance of these models against the performance of the original models. Furthermore, it is assumed that tolerance and indifference bands differ by trip purpose. Empirical results testify to the better performance of the models with the tolerance and indifference bands, and show that trip purpose is an important factor affecting tolerance and indifference bands.