The “sour-grape effect”
Named after "The Fox and the Grapes", the sour-grape effect is a systematic tendency to downplay the value of unattainable goals and rewards. We underestimate our future happiness because we don't always know what we want, and adjust our desires to what appears within reach.
People will rather devalue a goal than devalue the self. It means that people could miss out on the chance to try again because what once seemed impossible might now be within reach.
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Understanding the importance of decision-making
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"Sour-grape" vs "The grass is greener on the other side"
- "The grass is always greener on the other side" suggests that people spend much of their time longing for things they don't have.
- In Aesop's fable of "The Fox and the Grapes", the fox walked away from the grapes he desired because he could not reach i...
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