Disappointment is the feeling of
dissatisfaction
Contentment is a state of being in which one is satisfied with their current life situation, and the state of affairs in one's life as they presently are. If one is content, they are at inner peace with their situation and how the elements in o ...
that follows the failure of
expectations or
hope
Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large.
As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...
s to manifest. Similar to
regret
Regret is the emotion of wishing one had made a different decision in the past, because the consequences of the decision one did make were unfavorable.
Regret is related to perceived opportunity. Its intensity varies over time after the decisi ...
, it differs in that a person who feels regret focuses primarily on the personal choices that contributed to a poor outcome, while a person feeling disappointment focuses on the outcome itself.
It is a source of psychological
stress.
The study of disappointment—its causes, impact, and the degree to which individual decisions are motivated by a desire to avoid it—is a focus in the field of
decision analysis
Decision analysis (DA) is the Academic discipline, discipline comprising the philosophy, methodology, and professional practice necessary to address important Decision making, decisions in a formal manner. Decision analysis includes many procedures ...
,
as disappointment is, along with
regret
Regret is the emotion of wishing one had made a different decision in the past, because the consequences of the decision one did make were unfavorable.
Regret is related to perceived opportunity. Its intensity varies over time after the decisi ...
, one of two primary emotions involved in
decision-making
In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the Cognition, cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be ...
.
Etymology
''Disappoint'' is traced to the
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
''disappointen'' by way of the
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...
''desapointer''. In literal meaning, it is to remove from office. Its use in the sense of general frustration traces to the late 15th century, and it first appears recorded in English (language), English as an emotional state of depression (mood), dejection in the middle 18th century.
Psychology
Disappointment is a subjective response related to
anticipated rewards. Disappointment recovery time depends on the intensity of the disappointment, as well as the person experiencing the disappointment. For some it can take a few minutes while for others the same disappointment can take a few days.
Disappointment, and an inability to prepare for it, has also been hypothesized as the source of occasional
immune system
The immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to bacteria, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells, Parasitic worm, parasitic ...
compromise in
optimists.
While optimists by and large exhibit better health,
they may alternatively exhibit less immunity when under prolonged or uncontrollable stress, a phenomenon which researchers have attributed to the "disappointment effect".
The "disappointment effect" posits that optimists do not utilize "emotional cushioning" to prepare for disappointment and hence are less able to deal with it when they experience it.
This disappointment effect has been challenged since the mid-1990s by researcher
Suzanne Segerstrom, who has published, alone and in accord, several articles evaluating its plausibility. Her findings suggest that, rather than being unable to deal with disappointment, optimists are more likely to actively tackle their problems and experience some immunity compromise as a result.
In 1994,
psychotherapist
Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...
Ian Craib
Ian Ernest Craib (12 December 1945 – 22 December 2002) was an English sociologist and psychotherapist.
He was educated at Trinity School of John Whitgift, and the South Bank Polytechnic, eventually receiving his doctorate at the Victoria U ...
published the book ''The Importance of Disappointment'', in which he drew on the works of
Melanie Klein
Melanie Klein (; ; Reizes; 30 March 1882 – 22 September 1960) was an Austrian-British author and psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst known for her work in child analysis. She was the primary figure in the development of object relations theory. Kl ...
and
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
in advancing the theory that disappointment-avoidant culture—particularly
therapy
A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx.
As a rule, each therapy has indications a ...
culture—provides false
expectations of perfection in life and prevents people from achieving a healthy
self-identity
In the psychology of self, one's self-concept (also called self-construction, self-identity, self-perspective or self-structure) is a collection of beliefs about oneself. Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to the question ''"Who am ...
. Craib offered as two examples
litigious victims of
medical mistakes, who once would have accepted accidents as a course of life, and
grieving
Grief is the response to the loss of something deemed important, particularly to the death of a person to whom or animal to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also ha ...
people following the death of a loved one who, he said, are provided a false
stage model of recovery that is more designed to comfort bereavement therapists than the bereaved.
Lacanians considered childhood disappointment essential to entry into the
symbolic world of culture; disappointment in adulthood - the frustration of our demands by the world - as key to discovering who in fact we are.
Law
Where goods or services have been purchased in the hope of some enjoyment and the delivery of the goods or services fails to generate the anticipated result, customers have at times sought damages for
breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...
on the grounds of disappointment and distress. Such damages are not generally allowed by the courts, but there are cases where an award for damages has been considered and agreed.
English law
English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...
cases include
Jarvis v Swans Tours Ltd
is an English contract law case on the measure of damages for disappointing breaches of contract.
Facts
Mr. Jarvis was a solicitor for Barking Council. He chose to go for a Christmas holiday to Switzerland. The brochure from Swan Tours Ltd a ...
(1972) and
Farley v Skinner
''Farley v Skinner'' 001UKHL 49is an English contract law case, concerning the measure and availability of damages for distress.
Facts
Mr Farley bought a large estate, Riverside House, in Blackboys, Sussex, not far from Gatwick Airport. It had ...
(2001).
Milner v Carnival (2010) is another example where customers, in this case Mr and Mrs Milner, who took an extended cruise on the
Cunard
The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...
ship ''Queen Victoria'', had expectations of a benefit which did not materialise and for which damages were sought both for "diminution of value" (the quantifiable difference between the payment made and the value derived) and for "distress and disappointment". Judge
Simon Tuckey gave permission for an appeal against the trial ruling on damages, noting that this case "may provide the opportunity to give authoritative guidance on the appropriate measure of damages in 'holiday' cases" where disappointment is an issue.
Theory
Disappointment theory, pioneered in the mid-1980s by
David E. Bell with further development by
Graham Loomes
Graham Loomes (born 5 August 1950) is a British economist and academic, specialising in behavioural economics. Since 2009, he has been Professor of Economics and Behavioural Science at the University of Warwick. He previously worked at the Univ ...
and
Robert Sugden
Robert Sugden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. The character originally appeared on the show regularly between 22 April 1986 and 3 October 2005. During that time he was first played as a baby by Richard ...
,
revolves around the notion that people contemplating
risk
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environ ...
s are disappointed when the outcome of the risk is not evaluated as positively as the
expected outcome.
Disappointment theory has been utilized in examining such diverse decision-making processes as return
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
, taxpayer compliance and customer willingness to pay. David Gill and Victoria Prowse have provided experimental evidence that people are disappointment averse when they compete.
Disappointed individuals focus on "upward
counterfactuals
Counterfactual conditionals (also ''contrafactual'', ''subjunctive'' or ''X-marked'') are conditional sentences which discuss what would have been true under different circumstances, e.g. "If Peter believed in ghosts, he would be afraid to be he ...
"—alternative outcomes that would have been better than the one actually experienced—to the point that even positive outcomes may result in disappointment. One example, supplied by Bell, concerns a
lottery
A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...
win of $10,000.00, an event which will theoretically be perceived more positively if that amount represents the highest possible win in the lottery than if it represents the lowest. Decision analysts operate on the assumption that individuals will anticipate the potential for disappointment and make decisions that are less likely to lead to the experience of this feeling.
Disappointment aversion has been posited as one explanation for the
Allais paradox
The Allais paradox is a choice problem designed by to show an inconsistency of actual observed choices with the predictions of expected utility theory. The Allais paradox demonstrates that individuals rarely make rational decisions consistently ...
, a problematic response in
expected utility theory
The expected utility hypothesis is a foundational assumption in mathematical economics concerning decision making under uncertainty. It postulates that rational agents maximize utility, meaning the subjective desirability of their actions. Rational ...
wherein people prove more likely to choose a certain reward than to risk a greater reward while at the same time being willing to attempt a greater reward with lower
probability
Probability is a branch of mathematics and statistics concerning events and numerical descriptions of how likely they are to occur. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1; the larger the probability, the more likely an e ...
when both options include some risk.
While earlier developers of disappointment theory focused on anticipated outcomes, more recent examinations by Philippe Delquié and Alessandra Cillo of
INSEAD
INSEAD ( ; French: ''Institut européen d'administration des affaires'') is a non-profit business school with locations in Europe (Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE) and North America (San Francisco, USA ...
have focused on the impact of later disappointment resulting when an actual outcome comes to be regarded negatively based on further development; for example, if a person receives higher than expected
gains in the
stock market
A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange a ...
, they may be
elated
Elation, Elate, or Elated may refer to:
* Happiness
* Elation (album), ''Elation'' (album), a 2012 album by Great White
* ''Carnival Elation'', a cruise ship
* Elate (mythology), a minor figure in Greek mythology
* Elate (plant), ''Elate'' (plant) ...
until they discover a week later that they could have gained much more
profit
Profit may refer to:
Business and law
* Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market
* Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit
* Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...
if they had waited a few more days to sell.
This experience of disappointment may influence subsequent behavior, and, the analysts state, an incorporation of such variables into disappointment theory may enhance the study of
behavioral finance
Behavioral economics is the study of the psychological (e.g. cognitive, behavioral, affective, social) factors involved in the decisions of individuals or institutions, and how these decisions deviate from those implied by traditional economi ...
.
Disappointment is, along with regret, measured by direct questioning of respondents.
See also
*
Anticipation
Anticipation is an emotion involving pleasure or anxiety in considering or awaiting an expected event. Anticipatory emotions include fear, anxiety, hope, and trust. When the anticipated event fails to occur, it results in disappointment (for ...
*
Paris syndrome
*
Disenchantment
In social science, disenchantment () is the cultural rationalization and devaluation of religion apparent in modern society. The term was borrowed from Friedrich Schiller by Max Weber to describe the character of a modernized, bureaucratic, ...
*
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "the Pranc ...
Notes
Further reading
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External links
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{{Authority control
Emotions
Risk