Expectancy Violation Theory

Expectancy Violation Theory

Introduction
“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 expectancy violation theory, as well as provide the reader with an application of the theory regarding the initial relationship between myself, Shanaaz and my brother’s girlfriend Nishad.

Explanation of selected theory
Burgoon (1993:33) defined personal space as an “invisible, variable volume of space surrounding an individual which defines that individual’s preferred distance from others”. If a stranger had to stand too close to you in elevator when there are just two of you in the elevator, your natural reaction would be a heightened sense of arousal and discomfort because one does not expect an unfamiliar person to get inside his/her personal space. The expectancy violation theory explains this feeling of uneasiness. Individuals set their own definition of personal space depending on both the situation they are in and the relationship they have with the other people involved. Naturally, people feel more comfortable interacting closely with people they are intimate with than standing next to complete strangers. Firstly, the theory suggests that personal space expectations are influenced by two factors: “the social norm and the known idiosyncratic spacing patterns of the initiator” (Burgoon & Walther 1990:235).
The distance...