Disappointment is the feeling ofdissatisfaction that follows the failure ofexpectations orhopes[1] to manifest. Similar toregret, 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.[2] It is a source of psychologicalstress.[3] 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 ofdecision analysis,[2][4] as disappointment is, along withregret, one of two primary emotions involved indecision-making.[5]
Disappoint is traced to theMiddle Englishdisappointen by way of theOld Frenchdesapointer. In literal meaning, it is to remove from office.[6] Its use in the sense of generalfrustration traces to the late 15th century, and it first appears recorded inEnglish as an emotional state ofdejection in the middle 18th century.[7]
Disappointment is a subjective response related toanticipated rewards.[8] 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 occasionalimmune system compromise inoptimists.[9] While optimists by and large exhibit better health,[10] they may alternatively exhibit less immunity when under prolonged or uncontrollable stress, a phenomenon which researchers have attributed to the "disappointment effect".[9] 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.[10][11] This disappointment effect has been challenged since the mid-1990s by researcherSuzanne 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.[12]
In 1994,psychotherapistIan Craib published the bookThe Importance of Disappointment, in which he drew on the works ofMelanie Klein andSigmund Freud in advancing the theory that disappointment-avoidant culture—particularlytherapy culture—provides falseexpectations of perfection in life and prevents people from achieving a healthyself-identity.[13] Craib offered as two exampleslitigious victims ofmedical mistakes, who once would have accepted accidents as a course of life, andgrieving people following the death of a loved one who, he said, are provided a falsestage model of recovery that is more designed to comfort bereavement therapists than the bereaved.[14]
Lacanians considered childhood disappointment essential to entry into thesymbolic world of culture;[15] disappointment in adulthood - the frustration of our demands by the world - as key to discovering who in fact we are.[16]
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 forbreach of contract 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 cases includeJarvis v Swans Tours Ltd (1972) andFarley v Skinner (2001).
Milner v Carnival (2010) is another example where customers, in this case Mr and Mrs Milner, who took an extended cruise on theCunard shipQueen 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". JudgeSimon 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.[17]
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Disappointment theory, pioneered in the mid-1980s byDavid E. Bell with further development byGraham Loomes andRobert Sugden,[18] revolves around the notion that people contemplatingrisks are disappointed when the outcome of the risk is not evaluated as positively as theexpected outcome.[18] Disappointment theory has been utilized in examining such diverse decision-making processes as returnmigration, taxpayer compliance and customer willingness to pay.[19] David Gill and Victoria Prowse have provided experimental evidence that people are disappointment averse when they compete.[20]
Disappointed individuals focus on "upwardcounterfactuals"—alternative outcomes that would have been better than the one actually experienced—to the point that even positive outcomes may result in disappointment.[21] One example, supplied by Bell, concerns alottery 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.[22] 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.[18] Disappointment aversion has been posited as one explanation for theAllais paradox, a problematic response inexpected utility theory 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 lowerprobability when both options include some risk.[23]
While earlier developers of disappointment theory focused on anticipated outcomes, more recent examinations by Philippe Delquié and Alessandra Cillo ofINSEAD 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 expectedgains in thestock market, they may beelated until they discover a week later that they could have gained much moreprofit if they had waited a few more days to sell.[18] This experience of disappointment may influence subsequent behavior, and, the analysts state, an incorporation of such variables into disappointment theory may enhance the study ofbehavioral finance.[18] Disappointment is, along with regret, measured by direct questioning of respondents.[24]
The dictionary definition ofdisappointment at Wiktionary
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