Eastern philosophy tells us that expectation is the mother of disappointment, and research seems to agree. One prescription for happy living is to lower our expectations. Though at first glance this may sound defeatist, it actually produces a greater sense of well-being. In studies done on animals, the relationship between expectation and the body’s release of dopamine  (also known as the pleasure or feel-good hormone), was explored. Dopamine levels went up when the animal received a pleasant surprise. The more unexpected the pleasant stimulus, the higher the rise in dopamine. However, when a stimulus was expected but did not come, the animals’ disappointment could be measured by a drop in dopamine levels. Stable expectations produced stable levels, pleasant surprises elevated ones, and disappointed expectations a drop in levels