Essay on "Expectancy Violation Analysis"

Essay 5 pages (1574 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Expectancy Violations Analysis

Identification

At school there is a young man named G, whom I would describe as a low reward person. He can be an affable and delightful person to talk to, but there is no guarantee that on every occasion he will be so. Sometimes he can appear distracted, uninterested, bored, and even sullen and uncommunicative. He is not particularly demonstrative, although around certain individuals of an easy-going, hearty manner who express their love for him, he lightens up considerably and shows a good deal more animation than in situations when no such persons are around. He also has a slight stammer that causes him to tend toward shyness; however, around lively characters for whom he has a liking, he tends to drop his guard and communicate more openly and freely. Thus, G shows himself to be affected by persons of a specific charming character by giving positive feedback. According to Burgoon and Hale, there may be a number of factors other than the nonverbal that play into G's reward valence. However, for the purposes of this paper, I will test Expectancy Violations Theory with G. By violating his nonverbal expectations.

I have chosen G. specifically for his shyness. My relationship with him is a kind of mentor-student relationship. While G. has demonstrated his intellectual abilities many times, there is the awareness that, since I am older and more experienced in the world, I maintain a position of authority above and beyond that of G's. What I would like this experiment to show me is whether G. is responsive to nonverbal violations in a positive way with me as with persons of his own age and liking. There exists a connection between G. And me; however, it is one of mutual respect and not one of what might be called camaraderie. Since G. recognizes me more as a tutor than a confidant or friend, this experiment will likely test his knowledge of me by crossing the boundaries of our relationship. By violating his nonverbal expectations in the direction of camaraderie, I expect G. To display his natural shyness and display signs of negative reward valence.

Description of Expectancy Violation

I met G. In the library as is typical. He was standing at a computer screen and I took the vacant spot at the computer next to him. We exchanged greetings and after a moment of checking my email, I committed the first nonverbal expectancy violation by diminishing the usual amount of space between us. I had first noticed prior to this that G's ease had been reduced by my taking a computer so close. His movements and breathing seemed constricted as though paranoia at being watched so closely were affecting his ability to go about his usual computer business. As there was no one else around and all the other computers were free, G might have felt a slight irritation at being so intruded upon.

Next, I began to observe quite openly exactly what G. was doing on the computer. I further diminished all the space between us, and our shoulders touched. I blatantly stared at his computer screen as though greatly interested in his business. He ceased all activity and looked at me out of the corners of his eyes without turning his head in my direction. His body froze quite severely. At this point I committed my second expectancy violation by putting my arm around his shoulders as I had seen his easy-going friends do on a number of occasions. With them, however, the mood was lighter. When I did it there was a strange awkwardness in the air as if G. were not able to comprehend why I should be embracing him and taking such an obvious interest in his affairs.

Finally, G responded to my behavior in three ways: Behaviorally, G relaxed his body and unclenched the fist he had involuntarily made. He then began to finish typing the sentence he had been in the middle of typing when I had initiated contact. (However, while I still had my arm around him, he was unable to finish typing out his thoughts, the flow of which my intrusion was apparently impeding). Cognitively, G showed that he was aware that something out of the ordinary was occurring and that he should attempt to keep composure. He did not desire to display clear and significant signs of discomfort, but neither did he wish to be so embraced by me -- such was apparent in his facial reactions and the tension (though lessened after a moment) in his shoulders. Emotionally, G attempted to show that he was in command of himself by saying dryly, "Yes? You would like to read my emails?" At this point, I ended the experiment by poking G. In the side as though I were giving him a ribbing. I returned to my own computer and said just as dryly and without affection: "No. I was performing an Expectancy Violation Analysis. You were my test subject. How does that make you feel?" At this information, G responded lively, "Really? I feel like I have made a significant contribution to science. I feel the need to celebrate." Since G. is often sarcastic and ironic, I wondered if this were a sincere admission or one in which underlying sentiments existed: nonetheless, a smile appeared on his face and I discerned that he was pleased by my explanation.

Analysis of Expectancy Violation

Either, a) G. was happy to learn that our encounter had been nothing more than a scientific experiment, or b) he was happy that the boundaries of our relationship had for a moment been expanded in the direction of camaraderie. Another possibility may be that G. was merely happy to have been the test subject of my Expectancy Violation Analysis -- which, of course, would indicate that he was pleased to be so singled out among many; that, or perhaps the strangeness of the incidence impressed him: he is one, after all, who takes pleasure in the random occurrences of the day.

The Behavior Valence which G. initially ascribed to my behavior appeared to be slightly negative -- but perhaps there was also something positive in it as well. This was difficult to discern, for G. did two things: first, he froze as though disliking of our close contact; then, he relaxed as though attempting to familiarize himself with such behavior -- or at least not be so physically moved by it. Ultimately, the behavior valence ascribed to my behavior was ambiguous for, as my intentions were unclear to G, so was the way in which he should respond -- thus, he ascribed both a positive and negative behavior valence to my actions. However, once the intention of my contact was revealed, G showed physically that he was pleased; with a verbal accounting of myself, G ascribed a positive behavior valence.

The Communicator Reward Valence which G. ascribed to my behavior was, as expected, low. It was only moderately positive, if at all, initially -- and, overall, before my intentions were revealed, it was ambiguous at best. G already had a conception of our relationship, and my crossing of the boundaries of that mentor-student relationship into a friend-friend relationship (as demonstrated by my embracing him), confused him momentarily. However, G appeared to trust me enough to not lot his emotions get the upper hand, and he calmed himself and was able to communicate to me that, while the situation had become awkward, he was not unable to deal with it. Did the benefits of my diminishment of space outweigh the costs? I would answer that yes they did -- but only after I explained my actions verbally to G. Had I not done so, the manner in which our encounter took place would have been… READ MORE

How to Reference "Expectancy Violation Analysis" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

Expectancy Violations Theory Essay

Expectancy Violations Theory (EVT) begun by Judee K. Burgoon, concerns the way in which people interact with each other in a non-verbal way. Initially, the theory was known as "Nonverbal… read more

Essay 6 pages (1844 words) Sources: 8 Topic: Communication / Speech

---

Country Economic Analysis Report Essay

Country Economic Analysis Report

When most people hear about Jamaica, they will often think of the sunny beaches and the carefree lifestyle that the country is known for. Yet, beneath… read more

Essay 3 pages (890 words) Sources: 4 Topic: American History / United States

---

Breast Ironing in Cameroon Thesis

Breast Ironing in Cameroon

Sexual mutilations have a long and controversial history. Sexual mutilations include a diverse variety of practices, including male circumcision, breast removal, clitorectomy, female genital mutilations, castration,… read more

Thesis 15 pages (4350 words) Sources: 45 Style: MLA Topic: Women / Feminism

---

Elder Abuse Phenomenon Correlating Relationship to Elder Mortality Term Paper

Elder Abuse Phenomenon Correlating Relationship to Elder Mortality

Elder abuse has received increased scrutiny from the law enforcement and healthcare community in recent years. This increased attention is due in… read more

Term Paper 58 pages (15855 words) Sources: 25 Style: APA Topic: Family / Dating / Marriage

---

Capital Punishment With Regards to Christian Ethics Reaction Paper

Christianity and the Death Penalty

A Christian View of Capital Punishment

The issue of capital punishment is as old as the Bible itself. God himself was the first to issue… read more

Reaction Paper 8 pages (2667 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>