I don’t know if there is anything called expectation inflation, but there is something in the way we perceive satisfaction that makes us react to change rather than feel constantly satisfied in a non-changing environment. Think of it as three states.
There is a change about to take place. We as humans are somehow starting to make an attempt at understanding ourselves without simplifications. We might still limit our scope, but we have at least started to look at facts and situations rather than models. Yes, some models can still be created, but a model is always merely a depiction of a perspective given a set of circumstances. What then happens in reality is never very coherent, sometimes not even when all circumstances are met.
Behavioral economics are growing in influence. This makes me glad. I am an ex-econometrics student who has always been fond in looking to the individual rather than the model. Well, I love making models, but for me a model, a strategy or a tool set is always flawed if it doesn’t continuously change.