Disillusionment Curve
Saturday, April 26, 2008 at 07:56AM 
The graph above represents my imperfect remembering of a concept I learned once upon a time - early 90s, I think.
The theory is pretty simple: the higher your expectations of a thing, the deeper your dissatisfaction/disillusionment when experiencing the thing itself. The lower your expectation, the less disappointed you will be. And the less deep your unhappiness, the sooner, easier and more likely your return to satisfaction.
I am sure there is an official name for and far better explanation of this concept. It's similar to Moore's Adoption Lifecycle or Gartner's Hype Cycle, but I believe it pre-dates either of these. If anybody can supply a name and more authoritative source, I would be much obliged.
A number of things brought the concept to mind this week:
- I finally got a chance to study Jeff Utecht's Stages of PLN adoption on the Thinking Stick. I like that he adds perspective and balance to the path many take in learning and using social networking tools for professional growth. (He did forget denial, anger and bargaining ... oh, that's Kubler-Ross's stages of death. Never mind) Jeff's is a good "adoption" model.
- Spring was here. My expectations for the weekend were very high. But there was an inch of snow on the ground this morning, it's now 28F at midday, and the winds are gusting up to 30mph. My satisfaction level will be rising very slowly.
- My department has been pitching pretty hard all the benefits of the new student information system we're implementing next school year. How does one establish a balance between over-selling and working up real enthusiasm for change?
And for some reason, I woke asking myself: "What should be our technology department's priority: Making people happy or making people productive?" I recognize there is a correlation. But do we make people unhappy in the short term for productivity increases that eventually result in greater happiness?
As if I really had that much control anyway...
Reader Comments (4)
Your post reminded me that I recently saw a news report on why the Danes seem to be the people most content with their lives. Being part Danish, this interested me. It seems that level of expectation has a lot to do with this contentment. This link goes to only one of many articles on this interesting topic, but it seems to bear out your diagram.
Why Are Danes The World's Happiest Nation?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061222092845.htm
The conclusion "seems to be that Danes have consistently low (and realistic) expectations for the year to come."
Maybe you know what to expect when you change your student information system - no one will be happy with everything, so you can't expect that. If you can all agree that you'll all be uncomfortable or unhappy or frustrated for a while, when things are improved, more of you will enjoy it or probably even come to like it better.
This is written by a person who can always deal with change better when I know all the whys and wherefores, even if I don't necessarily agree at the time of the change.
Hope it goes well and I'm sure you will let us all know.
I love the graph, and it makes me want to create a "Disinclination Curve." I think I must be partly Dane, and I KNOW my heritage must be similar to that of Garrison Keillor's Norwegians. I love reading your blog, Doug, and your wonderful upbeat replies to your readers. (You are too good: you really don;t HAVE to reply to each comment, You clearly have Tremendous Energy and despite your surname have not inherited the gloomy northern European gene!) I would love to have half your energy and optimism. This is pertinent right now, because at my school we're hosting a Mini-Technology Workshop next week, barely three weeks before the end. I am all geared up to try again to promote blogs and other such grreat stuff, and then yesterday I heard from colleagues and someone's blog that classroom teachers (i.e., those on the front lines with groups of kids every day, inexorably) maybe do not actually welcome our offerings of Wonderful New Tools because they're in the trenches, coping with a lot of other expectations, and maybe -- especially at this time in our school year -- are not really looking for new things. This awareness gave me pause.
Hi Jan,
I suspect that the Dane's outlook is similar to most of us Scandahoovians, and there remains a good deal of it still in Minnesota. When your state motto is: "MINNESOTA - I've seen worse" you know we don't expect a lot.
I agree that most people deal better with change when they are kept in the loop. Thanks for the reminder.
All the very best,
Doug
Hi Jane,
I do try to reply to everyone who writes for a couple reasons. First, it is just to let people know that I DO read every comment that is posted and consider their thoughts. And second, it is simply a way of letting people know I feel honored that they take their valuable time to read my blog and respond. To me, it is the responses, even more than the entries, that give this medium its value.
Good luck with your mini-workshops. I've found that teachers are MOST receptive to del.icio.us, wikis, and image generation tools. Make sure you show the Common Craft videos - people love them and often "get" the application of tool after seeing them.
All the best,
Doug