Not Having What You Want versus Having What You Do Not Want: The Impact of Type of Negative Outcome on the Experience of Disappointment and Related Emotions

T he presen t r esea rch fo cu ses o n t he em ot ion a l co nseq uences o f negative o utco m es. Two types of n egat ive o u tco m es a re d istin gu ished : T h e ab sen ce o f a po sitive o ut co m e a n d t he p resen ce o f a negative ou tcom e. I t is a rgu ed t h at disapp o int m ent , b eca u se o f its close link with ho p e, desire, a n d p ro m ise, is m o re asso ciat ed with th e ab sen ce of a p ositive ou tcom e t ha n wit h t he presen ce o f a negat ive o ut co m e. D isapp oint m ent is a lso expected to b e m o re a ssociated with th e absen ce o f a p ositive o ut co m e t ha n r elated n egat ive em o tio n s, such as sa dn ess, a n ger, fru str atio n , an d regret . Th e results o f fo u r stu d ies, using differen t m et ho d ologies, co n r m th ese pred ictio ns. In Stu dy 1 a nd Stu dy 2 pa rt icipa n ts recalled a n a ut ob iogr aph ica l em ot ion a l ep isod e, a nd app ra isals co ncern in g t wo d ifferent typ es o f n egat ive ou tcom es were a ssessed. In St udy 3 a scena rio m et ho d ology was used in wh ich th e type of n egative ou t co m e wa s exp er iment ally m an ip ula ted a nd r atin gs for differen t em ot io ns were a ssessed. F ina lly, in St udy 4 o n-line em o tio na l reaction s t o t he t wo d ifferent types o f negat ive o u tco m es were a ssessed in a n exp erim en t in wh ich real m o ney cou ld b e wo n o r lo st. Im p lication s for t he study o f d isap po in tm en t a re br iey d iscussed . C O G N IT I O N A N D E M O T I O N , 1999, 13 (2), 129148 R eq uest s fo r r epr int s sh o u ld b e sen t to W ilco W. va n D ijk, D ep a r tm ent of So cia l P sych o logy, F r ee U n iversit y of A m st erd am , va n d er Bo ech o rst st r a at 1, N L 1081 BT, A m st erd a m , T h e N et herla n d s; e-m a il: W W.va n.D ijk @p sy.vu .n l. We t ha n k Ja n e Beatt ie fo r h er help wit h design in g St u d y 3, a n d we a lso th a nk C a r st en F r ied r ich , K a thelijne G o d efroo ij, M in ke M eth o rst , a n d C o r n e lise P a st o r fo r helping with t he d ata co llectio n o f St u d y 1. We t ha n k C r a ig Sm ith , To ny M an st ea d , an d two a n o nym ou s r eviewers fo r help fu l co m m ent s o n a ea r lier versio n of th is m a nu scr ip t.