Expectancy Violations Theory on the Go!

It took many years of study and researches until Judee Burgoon finally proposed her elegant theory. It took a lot of patience and hard work in making her assumption and be accepted by many people.

At first, her theory is based on Edward Hall’s proxemics (the study of personal space).That personal space is where our personal norms of conduct are embedded and “it’s the individuals preferred distance from others”. (Griffin)

There are four proxemic zones where individuals choose in communicating with other people (Intimate, Personal, Social, and Public). And when someone violates our personal zone there’s a possibility of an “arousal” (an immediate reaction towards the violators)--depending on our rules in communicating.

But then again, Burgoon had improved her concept into something far better than the first one. Instead of focusing on with spatial violations only, she included some of the nonverbal cues or acts that can create violations towards a person like eye contact, tone of voice and body language. And which gives people an impression to one another during social interactions. She finally named the theory Expectancy Violations Theory or EVT.

EVT has its core concepts: Expectancy, Violation Valence, and Communicator Reward Valence.

Expectancy-“is what’s predicted to occur rather than what is desired”. It has something to deal with the context or the place where you had a conversation with a certain person. And it explained how the preferred distance in communicating affects the flow of the conversation. Another, is the relationship whether both of you shared a common interest, and similarities. The status in life may affect also the way in approaching one person. Lastly, are the communicator’s characteristics, which include the age/sex/ place-of birth and other personal aspects of a person. Your expectancies may be affected gradually by the person’s physical aura, personality, and mannerisms also.

Violation Valence- “the positive or negative value we place on a specific unexpected behavior regardless of who does it”. We first try to interpret the meaning of the violation, and then figure out whether we like it or not. If the valence is negative, do less than expected. If it’s positive go further.

Communicator Reward Valence- “what can we give to the other person- a positive or negative reward?” Based on the actions he/she had made, we need to evaluate all of these before giving the reward or stating the outcome.

EVT has been used to elaborate or explicate the way people behave in a given context when communicating with others. The perceptions of individuals differ from each other, and how they respond to certain actions rather. .

Burgoon also mentioned about the Interaction Adaptation Theory which is an extension of EVT. It’s stated that “interpersonal interactions involve synchronized actions rather than unilateral moves”. She suggested that conversations should not be linked to solos only, it can be duets. Humans can adapt other people’s actions even culture and which further relates to IAT. She also enumerated the three factors of interaction position. The requirement (outcomes that carry out self-worth), expectations (what we need to happen) and desires (we would like to see happen).

All of these assumptions, Burgoon was able to explain that there’s only one truth. “The norms and reactions to their violations are universal. It seeks to predict the outcomes that will result when specific violations are presented”. It has been well-explained since then, and each of us has been given the chance to grasp easily Burgoon’s Theory—and that we should be thankful.