Expectancy Violations Theory Judee Burgoon Nutshell Description o

Expectancy Violations Theory Judee Burgoon

Nutshell Description o Individuals develop expectations of other people’s behavior o Expectations can be fulfilled (normative, expected communication behaviors) or violated o EVT is interested in what happens when expectancies are violated o Variables of interest: attitude (liking, satisfaction), behavior (compliance)

Key Ideas o An expectancy is something that is predicted to occur. o Expectancies are based on context/cultural norms, relationship factors, and communicator characteristics o All cultures have a structure of expected communication behaviors, but the content can differ significantly

o Communicators and expectancy violations both have reward valence o Positive valence: Good o Negative valence: Bad

o Communicator reward valence: sum of the positive and negative attributes that the person brings to the encounter plus the potential she/he has to reward or punish in the future o Spouse, boss, bratty kid brother, physician, etc.

o Violation valence: perceived value of a breach of expectations o Some violations are clearly negative or positive (although dependent on context and culture!); first date: flowers/candy versus being late o Some violations are equivocal; touch

Guidelines o When a behavior has “socially recognized” and agreed upon meaning: n If valence is negative, do less than expected n If valence is positive, do more than expected o If behavior is ambiguous, communicator valence is particularly important