Expectancy Violations Theory - Research Paper Example

? Expectancy Violations Theory Introduction For many years, theorists are attempting to understand and explain the nature of the world by using different theories. It is worth mentioning that people live in complex environment having composite relationships and it is the nature of the individuals to remain much curious regarding development of relationship through communication. In the area of communication, theories can be used to define fabric of space, time and relationship between individuals. Communication surrounds people every time and is interlaced into the area of shared awareness. Communication based theories are regarded as a set of methodical and knowledgeable aspects that determine about how communication works. In the context of communication, different theorists have developed their own opinions regarding functionality and definition of communication. Each theory is able to formulate unique viewpoints and thus making people aware about various aspects of communication. One such important theory in the field of communication is Expectancy Violations Theory (EVT) (Burgoon et al., 1989). With this concern, this research paper discusses about various aspects of EVT by taking into concern its key concept, assumptions and major components. Moreover, the purpose of the research paper is to develop a worldview perspective and also to analyze the theory on the basis of Griffin’s standards. Theory Summary EVT has been developed by Judee Burgoon which concentrates on determining the importance of nonverbal communication. This theory establishes the significance of nonverbal messages and information processing for forming effective communication. The core concept of the theory is ‘personal space’ expectations and reaction of people who breach the concept of expectation. ‘Personal space’ can differ on the basis of cultural standards and personal preferences. At times, violating the expectations with respect to personal space is considered as an effective strategy of communication (Burgoon et al., 1989). According to EVT theory, communication is the exchange of information which is considerably high in interpersonal content and can be used to interrupt the expectations of another. The expectations are mainly based on social customs and specific individualities of communicators. Further, the violation of expectations can encourage and force the recipients for making cognitive assessment of such act (Burgoon et al., 1989). EVT model suggests that nonverbal actions of others are adjudicated as communicators by senders along with receivers having certain expectancy. Violation of these expectations can intensify the salience of thoughts regarding the correspondents’ behaviour. There are five core components of EVT namely expectations, violations and stimulation, ‘communicator reward valence’, behaviour analysis and violation valence. EVT model tries to forecast and clarify fatal communication outcome such as desirability and encouragement along with macro level exchange patterns. According to EVT model, expectations comprise intellectual, emotional and conative elements that basically functions in the form of social customs and known characteristics of individuals. Burgoon also perceived that expectancies are subjected towards communicators’ characteristics, relationship and context. The context of EVT theory is based on culture and setting. On the other hand, relationship is dependent on liking and social status of people (Cleland, 2010). Concerning the aspects of violation and simulation, if a communicating individual violates the expectations by a certain degree, then this might strengthen the perception of the person who became violated. If such violation occurs in an organisational environment, for example, between managers and subordinates, the level of violation can cause the subordinates to pursue the reason for violation of the relationship. The ‘communicator reward valence’ can be duly considered as a primary component of EVT model, wherein the valence of violations can be regarded as positive or negative. An example of this component can be apparently observed at the time when a particular manager communicates with a specific subordinate. This might be considered as a negative impression for those subordinates who are not present and appear positive impression for corresponding subordinate (Cleland, 2010). Behaviour analysis is regarded as the clarification of violation. The violation can be clarified by either understanding the behaviour, having no visible meaning or to gain specific understanding about the reason for violation. The sixth and final component of EVT model is violation valence. EVT model forecasts that an extreme violation, if committed by high reward communicator can be valanced confidently, resulting in generating mutual communication patterns and positive consequences such as higher trustworthiness and desirability. For example, if a subordinate found that his/her manager is very credible, the violation valance can proclaim the relationship between them. On the other hand, in negative reward valence, violation of expectation can be harmful, generating distrusts and ethical issues (Dunbar & Segrin, 2012). Theory Worldview Communication theories are the areas of thought that are rich and varied in nature with low level of consistency. These theories not only concentrates on developing different aspects of communication, but often are based on mismatched philosophies, i.e. conflicting norms. Since, there is no consensus on set of core philosophies, different authors continued to define communication in various perspectives. These perspectives are referred as traditions (Littlejohn & Foss, 2009). Amongst other authors, Em Griffin has also developed his own perspectives on communication. For Griffin, there are two key traditions in communication theory such as objective and interpretive. In this regard, interpretive theories are generally based on qualitative research and intend to recognise or understand trends or occurrences in communication. In contrast, objective theory is generally subjected to quantitative research and its objective is to recognise and predict the trends. Both the categories i.e. interpretive and objective theories contradict with each other in defining communication (Littlejohn & Foss, 2009). In accordance with Griffin’s Map of Theory Traditions, there are seven different traditions in the field of communication theory that include socio-psychological, cybernetic, rhetorical, semiotic, socio-cultural, critical, phenomenological and ethical. Each tradition defines communication in different ways. For instance, socio-psychological tradition defines communication as an interpersonal influence, cybernetic tradition observes communication as an information processing activity and rhetorical tradition perceives communication as an artful activity. Moreover, semiotic tradition views communication as procedure of sharing meaning by using signs, socio-cultural tradition expresses communication as an establishment and representation of social reality, critical tradition describes communication as a thoughtful challenge of unjust discourse and phenomenological tradition states communication as knowledge of self and other individuals through involving in discussions (Montana State University Billings, 2010). In this context, it can be argued that Burgoon’s EVT falls under socio-psychological tradition of communication. Similar to socio-psychological tradition, EVT tends to develop cause and affect relationships, in order to determine if communication will become successful or fail. EVT suggests that communication is based on expectations of individuals and when expectations are violated, it can cause provocation and interruption between different parties. Varying level of provocation can change the landscape of communication entirely. EVT also suggests that when the expectations of people are violated, it generates violation valence where they attribute certain positive or negative value to the breach of expectations (Griffin, 2003). Socio-psychological tradition focuses on the sources and the components of persuasive messages along with the characteristics of audience. Similarly in EVT, the reliability of communication depends on proficiency and characteristics of communicating parties. Besides, EVT also concentrates on defining communication from scientific viewpoint. Thus, EVT can also be duly considered as an objective approach (Griffin, 2003). There are several assumptions of EVT which are described below. Ontological viewpoint: EVT considers that people have certain level of free will. Furthermore, people can evaluate along with interpret the relationship and accordingly make decisions about whether or not to breach the expectations. Epistemological viewpoint: EVT considers that there is only a single reality which is prevailed in certain customs for communication and breach of these customs can generate precise and expectable consequences. Axiological viewpoint: EVT is observed as unbiased because the research was conducted in empirical and objective manner for the purpose of defining about how people respond at the time when their expectations are breached (Griffin, 2003). Theory Analysis There are certain specific standards which can make an objective theory good such as description of data, prediction of future events, relative simplicity, testability and practical utility. These standards have been described hereunder. Description of Data: The first standard of good objective theory is effectiveness to describe human behavior or any specific occurrence. It can be argued that a good objective theory brings simplicity to disorder conditions. In this context, it can be stated that the idea of expectancy violations assist researchers to make sense about the idea of communication. EVT frames interpersonal communication outline and its consequences within the context of expectancies and breach of expectations. There are certain evidences which reveal that breach of expectancies occur at the time when activities of communicators differ from expectancy. Furthermore, it can be stated that the outcome of breach of expectancy is also apparent, which can influence the reaction of individuals by a certain degree. A good theory is able to synthesise valuable information and concentrate on determining various crucial aspects. Burgoon’s theory effectively shapes different inputs in order to form a coherent outcome. Furthermore, good objective theory also defines the reason for the conduct of any activity. In this context, it can be stated that EVT explains as to why people feel in certain way during communication (McGraw-Hill Education, 2013). Prediction of Future Events: A good objective theory can predict future occurrences. Prediction can only be possible when people deal with such aspects that can be realised or perceived. When people repeatedly observe similar events in alike circumstances, they start to act in constant patterns or abiding universal laws. In the realm of physical sciences, theorists rarely become self-conscious because physical objects do not have alternatives to react to a certain stimulus. However, in social sciences, theorists often cast their predictions with respect to cause and effect relationship. In social sciences, particularly, in relation to the theory of human behaviour, certain self-effacement on the part of theorists is sensible. EVT do not satisfy the standard of prediction, because it talks about expectations of people which are hardly predictable. EVT can only predict future events, if foreseen by someone who can understand other individual exceptionally well. However, EVT do not consider unexpected occurrences. Burgoon has gained success in predicting when violence of expectations ignite and trigger certain reaction (McGraw-Hill Education, 2013). Relative Simplicity: The third important standard of good objective theory is relative simplicity, i.e. a good objective theory must be as simple as possible. It usually relates to the burden for understanding or explaining a theory. Theory should be something which is easy to understand. In certain circumstances, relative simplicity is used to infer beauty, transparency and clarity. The idea of simplicity can also be related in the area of social science, particularly human behavior. In the context of EVT, it can be stated that this theory satisfy the standard of relative simplicity. EVT has clarified that violating interpersonal expectations of a person is a superior strategy to conformism. EVT also states that communication with positive reward valence can increase the attraction, trustworthiness and the expressiveness of individuals. As a result, when violation valence is positive people can act in unexpected manner. Then again, when violation valence is low, people must act in socially appropriate manner (McGraw-Hill Education, 2013). Testability: A good objective theory must also be testable, i.e. if an expectation is wrong, there need to be a way to validate the error. It is also termed as the requirement of falsifiability. In this context, it can be stated that there are certain theories that have been inaccurately stated and hence become impossible to envision experiential outcomes. With regard to EVT, it can be stated that the theory is semi testable, i.e. the hypothesis of EVT is quite challenging to have accurate and reliable tests (McGraw-Hill Education, 2013). Practical Utility: The fifth important standard of a good objective theory is practical utility, which signifies that EVT theory must be useful in practical life scenario. As the objective of social science is to support individuals to have more control on regular life, objective theories must provide practical advice for those confronting complex social circumstances. EVT does this well. Burgoon has analyzed the interrelation prevailing between interpersonal behavior and level of desirability, trustworthiness, influence and contribution. These are the possible outcomes of expectancy breach which discovered by Burgoon (McGraw-Hill Education, 2013). Conclusion The core idea of EVT represents that responses of individuals can violate the sense of expectations by a certain degree. It defines expectations as invisible and comprises certain significant aspects such as distance, communication and components of communication. EVT states that success or failure of violations of expectations is related with perceived desirability, trustworthiness, influence and personal involvement. Besides, there are also other aspects such as demographic and personal characteristics of communicators that can also determine the outcome of violation of expectations. According to EVT, expectancies can influence interaction violation, causing distraction to the recipients. EVT also states that individuals having positive reward valence can feel safe to breach the expectations, where individuals having negative reward valence must act in socially responsible manner. Thus, in conclusion, it can be stated that if communicator valence is negative, it is advisable to act less than the expectations and if the communicator valence is positive, it is advisable to act above expectations. However, one significant limitation of EVT is that it is not effective in predicting the outcome of communication. EVT do not consider the occurrence of mutuality in interpersonal communications. However, EVT improves the understanding of how expectations can affect informal distance. It reveals the thoughts of communicators and how they observe nonverbal behavior during the conversation. EVT signifies advice on how to produce favorable impressions. References Bergman, M. (2012). Pragmatism as a communication- theoretical tradition: an assessment of Craig’s proposal. European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy, 4(1), 208-221. Burgoon, J. K., Newton, D. A., Walther, J. B., & Baesler, J. (1989). Nonverbal expectancy violations and conversational involvement. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 13(2), 97-119. Cleland, M. (2010). An expectancy violations theory study of employee satisfaction. Gonzaga University, 1-45. Dunbar, N. E., & Segrin, C. (2012). Clothing and teacher credibility: an application of expectancy violations theory. International Scholarly Research Network, 1-12. Griffin, E. (2003). A first look at communication theory. United States: McGraw-Hill Education. Littlejohn, S. W., & Foss, K. A. (2009). Encyclopedia of communication theory. Unites States: SAGE Publications, Inc. McGraw-Hill Education. (2013). Weighing the words. Retrieved from http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0073385026/593599/Griffin7e_ch03.pdf Montana State University Billings. (2010). Mapping the territory. Retrieved from http://www.msubillings.edu/CommFaculty/Gross/COMT4-565/Scans/GriffinCH._3-MAPPING(ARV).pdf Read More