Expectancy Violation Theory And Communication Theory

The actions of this individual violated the expectations that Ross and the rest of the group held with regards to riding in elevators. The expectation was that everyone

Communication takes place in any and all locations, intentionally and unintentionally, and it can be positive or negative. Many of our personal traits and character qualities can affect how we communicate with other people, and how they communicate with us. Recently, I had an experience that further proved this point to me in a very real and tangible way.

In this paper there will be a critical analysis of the Expectancy Violations Theory and views points of a Christian on that theory. Expectancy Violations Theory is best defined as a way to explain how someone reacts to unexpected behavior of their friends and peers and the many meanings that people bring to the violation of their personal space. According to communicationtheory.org, “Expectancy violation is a communication theory which tries to explain the unexpected behaviors of human beings while interacting. The theory is based on the uncertainty reduction theory where the vagueness on the behaviors of the others is reduced through interaction” (communicationtheory.org). It is another way to measure how happy others interact with one another. There are proxemics levels of space to measure this physically. The first is personal space which is 2-4 feet. The next is social distance which is 4-12 feet. The next is public distance which is 12 feet. The truth is that the way Christians should react is the way that Jesus Christ would react. Christians should be welcoming and not bound by the earthly ways of communicating. Psalms 1:1-6 says,

Violating a norm, in society today, can make some people look at you incredibly differently from what is normal. Depending on the norm that is disrupted, some people make react differently than perhaps someone with different views. I decided to experiment with breaking the norm of conversational distance. “Social Distance” has separate zones that are a general rule of a conversation based on how well a person knows the people they are talking to. While defying the norm of social distance, I received two different reactions due to the difference in people I attempted it with. Disturbing a social norm can either make people uncomfortable or act okay with it, depending on different variables.

Operant Conditioning Theory by B.F. Skinner is a psychological manipulation using rewards and punishments to enforce positive behavior. It uses an individual person’s response to events or stimulus. When a particular Stimulus-Response pattern is rewarded, the individual is conditioned to respond. The distinctive characteristic of operant conditioning is related to previous forms of behaviorism. The Operant Conditioning theory comprises of neutral operants, positive/negative reinforcers, and positive/negative punishers. Through these factors, we get the desired behavior of our subject because they do not want to be punished for under performing so they do what they’re told to or do more of what they were assigned to to receive positive stimulus

To function effectively in today’s society people must communicate with one another. Yet for some individuals communication experiences are so unrewarding that they either consciously or unconsciously avoid situations where communication is required. (McCroskey & Richmond, 1979) The term ‘communication apprehension’ was coined by James McCroskey (1976a) and is defined as “an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons” (McCroskey, 1984). In the last two decades communication apprehension and related constructs, such as reticence and unwillingness to communicate, have received extensive research and theoretical attention by scholars in communication and

Nonverbal cues are a major part of expectancy violations theory (West & Turner, 2014). EVT suggests that people hold expectations of how people should act or respond to certain situations (Burgoon et al., 2016; Chiles & Roloff, 2014; Dickter & Gyurovski, 2012; Frisby & Sidelinger, 2013; Houser, 2005; Johnson, 2012; Lannutti & Camero, 2007; McAuliff, Lapin, & Michel, 2015; Meltzer & McNulty, 2011; Miller-Ott & Kelly, 2015; Sidelinger & Bolen, 2015; Walther-Martin, 2015). Also, scholars believe that these preconceived notions are learned (Burgoon et al., 2016; West & Turner, 2014; Walther-Martin,

As soon as this course started, I realized that there was a lot for me to learn. I communicate with many individuals at work and in my personal life. I have always felt that my communications were clearly received. However, I realized that each receiver of my communication is different. Joseph A. Devito explains that each person is unique; each person’s communications are unique (Devito 9). When at work I deal with many employees concerning various matters. The employees typically come to me because they need help with a matter that I am knowledgeable in. I can usually answer their questions quickly, and with great detail. The part I fail to consider is that the employee is not as knowledgeable as me, and may not understand some of the terms and processes I am referring to. And for fear of appearing to not understand, an employee will just agree with me and leave. That employee may leave my office not fully understanding everything I said. This miscommunication is

COMG  151  Personal  and  Public  Speech  Spring  2013  Study  Guide  –  Midterm  Exam DATE:  Wednesday,  February  27  at  12:30pm  in  Bilger  152 *This  review  sheet  is  for  the  midterm.  The  ideas  listed  below  represent  issues  and  content  with which  you  should  be  familiar.  They  do  NOT  necessarily  represent  an  exhaustive  list  of  all material  subject  to  examination  but  should  give  you  direction  in  your  preparation  for  the  exam.* YOU  WILL  NEED  TO  BRING  A  NUMBER  2  PENCIL. Chapter  1  –  Communication  Perspectives 1. Why  is  communication  important? ● Communication  is  inescapable  and  we  spend  80%  -­  90%  of  our  waking  hours  communicating 2. What  are  the  communication  models

Lastly is Public distance, which is 10 feet and beyond. The Public distance can be described as the public distance, giving you plenty of space between the message sender and receiver. In this distance, effective communicators adjust their nonverbal behavior to conform to the communicative rules of their

Chiles and Roloff use Expectancy Violation Theory to understand the relationship between expectations and responses to apologies. Chiles and Roloff clarify that EVT assumes that individuals form expectations for the normative and prescriptive rules guiding (communicative) interactions with others, and when those expectations are violated individuals become cognitively aroused. At that point, based on factors such as the situation, the context, and the relationship itself, individuals consciously or unconsciously attribute a valence, positive or negative, to the violation. EVT is one of the most widely used theoretical perspectives on expectations and communication behavior, and has been applied to a variety of novel contexts. However, no studies

Communication is an ongoing process in which individuals exchange messages whose meanings are influenced by the history of the relationship and the experiences of the participants. (Adler, p.384) Communication depends on relationships between the people who are communicating, and on common basics between them. Problems in communications between people may arise due to differences in cultures, perceptions, values, and expectations from life.

“Expectancy violations exert significance on people’s interaction patterns, on their impressions of one another, and on the outcomes of their interactions” (Burgoon 1993:40). In other words, Judee Burgoon, founder of the expectancy violation theory, concluded from various experiments that people evaluate communication with others in a negative or positive regard, based on their expectation of the interaction and their opinion of the communicator. When people do not act in accordance with ones expectations, one resorts to evaluating their communication behavior, be it verbal or non verbal as well as how this behavior makes one feel. The following essay will further explore and explain the

In all communication events, unless there is a relationship between actions and words, the message can be wrongly interpreted. I observed a conversation between a bartender and a customer in busy and crowded bar. The customer wanted the buy one more double bourbon but the bartender refused to sell to him. This resulted in a series of communication theories, which will be analysed later.

Throughout the semester, we have studied numerous communication theories. Their purpose is to help understand exactly what happens when we interact with others. We might not necessarily agree with all of the theories, but the idea is to develop tools to evaluate situations we may encounter. Often, when the theories are explained in the readings or lecture, it is beneficial to apply the concepts to a "real life" situation. Using this approach, I will use a situation that many of us have faced, or will face, and analyze it according to a particular communication theory.