The Expectancy Violations Theory
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Ah, the expectancy violations theory. This theory, in particular, speaks to me on a deeply
personal level. Although it may be applied to any person, regardless of their
birth order, the expectancy violations theory can easily be implemented towards any of the hundreds of
awkward conversations introverts and only children have to conquer over their
lifetime.
The Wisconsin State Fair: The Stuff of Nightmares
(Photo Credit by Ashley Prondzinski)
Maintaining large amounts of personal
space in social settings ends up being a priority for me in social scenarios, which sometimes gets in the way of
making new friends. Whether they were friends, strangers, or family, any form
of physical contact was a definitive “no” for me. For example, during my middle
and high school years, the main hallways would typically
be packed between classes. I had (and still have) an illogical fear of people
touching or bumping into me. For the majority of my
journey down the hallway and into class, I would feel like I am attempting to
see how little physical space I could take up within a matter of seconds. My
irrational phobia of being touched can be considered to be a first world
problem that has gone out of hand.
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Unfortunately, attempting to keep my
distance from others in such an overly dramatic manner causes me to appear
aloof. It becomes difficult for me to make new friends, especially when I have
the overwhelming urge to slowly back away from an approaching stranger or
acquaintance. In terms of metaphorical personal space, my standards mostly
match those of the general population.
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The theory assists in further understanding
the situation relating to interpersonal communication by stating the social
norms that can be applied to multiple cultures. In some parts of Europe, for
example, civilians greet one another by kissing each other's cheeks. If one attempted
the same custom in Japan, the interaction would possibly come off to the other
person as disrespectful. By understanding the concepts of the expectations
violations theory, one may quickly grasp the basics of how to properly define
certain levels of intimacy and friendship in interpersonal communications.
I really liked your example that you used about the middle and high school hallways because I was the same way, I always wanted to get to one class to another rather than socializing with friends because the hallways were always too crowded for comfort.
ReplyDeleteAlso I like how you have this post organized it is one very easy to follow and enjoyable to read, the images go along with it very well.