Expectancy Violations Theory Of Expectancy

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,

In today’s society, norms are expected by everyone. According to the book Essentials of Sociology a Down- To- Earth Approach, Hansen states that norms are expectations of "right” behavior (Hansen, 2014). There are also two forms of norms that may be strictly enforced or not. There is folkways and mores. Folkways are norms that aren’t strictly enforced while mores are strictly enforced for essential thought to care values or the well-being of a group (Hansen, 2014). Along with a norm and the two types, there may also be reactions to it. These reactions may be positive or negative and termed as sanctions. Sanctions are either expressions of an approval given to people for upholding norms or expression of disapproval for violating them (Hansen, 2014). In conducting a norm experiment, the terms were put to a test. The experiment consisted of an observed norm violation and an individual norm violation. The experiments resulted in what I had hypothesized. My hypothesis consisted of sanctions of the norms that were conducted.

Norms are rules for behavior that are based on values, made through society. Breaking one of the norms can sometimes make people uncomfortable, or even disgusted. There are general rules that can make a conversation comfortable, based on how well a person knows others that talking in the conversation (“Social Distance”). As I experimented with the disruption of conversational distance, I experienced two completely different reactions. Depending on the level of comfortability, norms can be accepted behavior or can be

In our society we have a number of society norms that we abide by. For example, there is an unwritten rule of how one should behave in an elevator. For example, it is proper to face front, stand away from strangers, and not to look at others. When a social norm is broken people may respond with alarm, humor, fear, irritation, or an array of other emotions. When you think of a norm, you are probably thinking about being normal. But in psychology terms, norm means, a standard or representative value for a group. The norm that is more common to people is a social norm. Meaning expectations about what behavior, thoughts, or feelings are appropriate within a given group within a given context.

The social-psychological principle that is relevant to this scene is self-fulfilling prophecies. The definition of self-fulfilling prophecy is “the observation that expectations about the future tend to come true due to the fact that our expectations affect what we think, say, and do and those actions affect the outcome of events and situations”. Robert Merton describes self-fulfilling prophecies as the situation where we end up labeling others, and through this we actually influence their action, and they eventually become

In our society we have a number of norms that we abide by. For example, there is an unwritten rule of how one should behave in an elevator. It is “proper” to face front, stand away from strangers, and not to look at others. When a social norm is broken people may respond with alarm, humour, fear, irritation, or an array of other emotions. When you think of a norm, you are probably thinking about simply being normal. But in psychology terms, norm means a standard or representative value for a group. A social norm is some sort of an expectation that our society has that is deemed normal by that society; they tell us which behaviors, thoughts, or feelings are appropriate within a given

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,

In society people are expected to follow many unwritten rules that are thought to be the “norm”. When one decides to break one of societies unwritten rules it puts not only the rule breaker but everyone around in positions where they are forced out of their comfort zones and must adjust to the abnormal. For this assignment the task was to choose multiple norms to break in front of various audiences then analyze the experience both as the norm breaker and reactions of the unknowing audience. This paper will discuss breaking of an interpersonal behavior norm by standing too close to others while browsing various stores in a mall. Also a social etiquette norm will be evaluated by choosing to sit on the floor at a food service establishment to

When I began to drive with my mom in the car, I was forced to obey the speed limit. However, after I started to drive on my own, I consistently speeded. Due to the fear of getting a ticket, I typically only travel five miles per hour over the speed limit. Although I do not drastically speed, I become irritated when I get stuck behind a vehicle traveling at or below the speed limit. So, for one of my norm-violations, I will become one of the people who drives the speed limit, and I will determine how others react. Another norm-violation I decided to participate in is walking on the wrong side of the hallway. Even though there is no specific rule or law stating that students are required to walk on the right side of the hallway, everyone walks on the appropriate side and violators of this norm sometimes get run over. Finally, a third norm I will violate is whispering when I talk. There are situations when whispering is appropriate; however, I will be whispering at the lunch table, at home, and in everyday settings where the environment is not quiet. By performing these three norm-violations, I hope to better comprehend why norms such as these exist in society.

The social norm experiment that I performed consisted of me violating a social norm and observing people’s reactions for doing so. I did something that is deemed “not normal,” based off from societal standards. The norm I broke was an interesting one. Instead of respecting strangers’ personal space, I invaded their space. I stood in front of them as close as I could possibly get, without touching them. I choose to break this social norm because of how I am with people. Strangers or friends, it does not matter, I do not like when people stand close to me. I feel as if they are invading my personal space. When people stand too close to me, I tense up and feel very uncomfortable. In my eyes, this social norm is necessary, especially for people who are similar to me and need to have their distance from others.

A norm is defined as expectations, or rules of behavior that reflect and enforce behavior.(Henslin, 2009) When people are in public settings we expect individuals to behave in a certain way. For example when standing in line to see a show or to purchase an item we expect everyone to stand in a single file line. We expect individuals to wait their turn as they proceed to the front of the line. Another expectation or norm is we expect individuals to have dinning etiquette when eating in restaurants. We expect people to dine using the proper utensils. I thought about this example as I was pondering for an observation to perform. I decided that I would take a chance and visit a well respected restaurant in my area and break the norm

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

There is a fundamental human need to belong to social groups especially if people were to live and work together, it is likely that they need to agree on common beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours in order to get along and fit-in. Thus, we learnt to conform to rules of other people, the more people see others behaving in a particular way or making particular decisions, the more likely people will feel obliged to follow the suit. This is called conformity and can be defined in different ways, Aronson, Wilson & Akert (2014) stated it is the changing of one’s behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people. According to Deutsch and Gerard (1955), social influence should be distinguished into two types, the informational social influence and normative social influence. The occurrence of social influence has implied to many real life events, which has drawn many researchers to attention. This has lead many researchers to design distinct experiments to try and understand the cause of the conformity, whether conformity is situation dependent, and whether we are able to resist social influences.

“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

At a very early age, children learn about social norms to help them become proper citizens in society. Examples of some social norms that students learn are: “do not yell in the library,” “do not speak unless spoken to,” “do not talk to strangers,” and “close the door when you use the restroom.” As you grow older, these rules become unspoken because everyone knows how to act like a proper individual in society. The textbook definition of a social norm is something that is a rule of behavior that society accepts. (Bicchieri) Since everyone knows these unsaid rules of society, what would happen when someone decides not to follow these rules? What would people think and react? In this paper, I discuss my violation of the social norm “don’t talk to strangers” and discuss what I learned from this experiment.