Imagine that you walk into a grocery store on an ordinary Sunday afternoon and everyone in the store is dressed up in a costume as someone or something else. On an ordinary Sunday, this would be extremely shocking to most people; however, on Halloween it is expected. In the eighth edition of A First Look at Communication Theory, Em Griffin explains that our expectancy is what we predict to happen. Expectancy Violations Theory, or EVT, by Judee Burgoon, deals with the instances when these expectations are violated.
In EVT, there are three core concepts, which Griffin breaks down, the first being the expectancy. In order for this theory to exist, there must first be an existing expectation on the end of the individual being violated. In this first concept of the theory, Burgoon explains that these expectations are processed based on context, relationships, and characteristics of individuals (Griffin 89). The second concept is the violation valence. The violation valence is the positive or negative value that is assigned to a breach of expectations (90). In other words, the violation valence is the positive or negative feeling the individual has about the violation. The third and final concept is the communicator reward valence, which Burgoon describes as the likely gains and losses in the future from the expectancy violation. Griffin defines the communicator reward valence as the sum of positive and negative attributes brought to the encounter plus the potential to reward or punish in the future (91).
If you walk into a grocery store on an ordinary Sunday, you expect to see people in everyday clothing, ranging from casual wear to business attire. When you walk in and you see people in costumes instead, that expectation is violated. According to the concepts, you would then process this violation and perceive it as either positive or negative. If you were to view it as positive, you may dig deeper to find out why people are in costumes on this ordinary Sunday which would incline you to participate in the dress-up in the future.
An example of EVT from my own life deals with the initial stages of my relationship with my now boyfriend, Nolan. We met when I was working at the Nonprofit and Volunteer Fair on-campus for my job at Career Services. He was attending the fair and, after we chatted about a Nonprofit organization he was there looking for, he asked me for my number. We began texting that night and he expressed interest in hanging out with me in the near future. Although I am a very outgoing person, I've always been a little shy and nervous when it comes to guys and relationships, especially when I communicate more online or through text in the beginning. Multiple times in high school and college, this would happen and the guy would then ask me to hang out in person and I would get extremely nervous and chicken out! Nolan and I were texting a few days later and he told me he wanted to hang out. I immediately went into my nervous mode and didn't respond because I wasn't sure how to. I really liked him, which made me even more nervous. When I didn't respond, he sent another text stating that he was coming over. I wasn't expecting him to actually come over without my confirmation, but he completely violated that expectation when I heard his knock on the door. His violation definitely caught me off guard, but I was glad he did it. By him just showing up, I knew it was building our relationship and helping us get to know one another. As the violator, he has explained to me that his action could have been taken negatively by me, which demonstrates my violation valence. Luckily, I viewed the violation positively, and now I am in an incredible relationship with my best friend.
Another example of my expectations being violated is when I read an obituary that Sarah Silverman wrote for her dog Duck. Sarah Silverman, being my all time favorite comedian, makes a lot of serious topics and conversations light with her humor. When I saw her tweet with the obituary she wrote, I expected her to make light of an incredibly sad loss. My expectations were violated when I read the obituary and a tear came to my eye. The violation was positive for me because I was able to relate it to my relationship with my own dog.
Check out this video below of Sarah Silverman being her funny, comedic self and compare it to the more serious Sarah Silverman we see in her obituary for Duck below the video.
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