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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expectancy violations theory | 15/17 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expectancy_violations_theory | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T10:06:53.972000+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Expectations of adults with autism === Expectancy violations theory has been applied in studies to determine whether people judge adults with autism as violating their expectations since people with autism can exhibit little-to-no eye contact, or facial expression, not recognize certain nonverbal cues, or utilize tones that non-autistic people may perceive as abnormal. In one manuscript replying to another study, Bishop describes communication deficits in autistic individuals as potentially violating one's expectations for social communication, thus being a form of expectation violation since people with autism can struggle with social communication. One study by Lim, Young, and Brewer hypothesized that people can incorrectly perceive autistic adults as having no credibility or being deceptive. They believed that due to expectancy violations theory, people will judge those who violate their expectations unfavorably in a negative light. They recorded videos of autistic and non autistic adults attempting to persuade the interviewer that they did not steal an envelope of money and the participants of the study were to judge whether they believed the individuals in the interview were lying or telling the truth. The results showed that the autistic people were perceived as deceptive and less credible than non autistic people in the videos. These findings supported the hypothesis that autistic adults can violate expectations through certain behaviors or through other's knowledge of their diagnosis. A similar study by the same researchers, also conducted through interviews, showed that the behaviors of autistic adults can affect their perceived credibility. Another study by Logos, Brewer, and Young sought to determine the effect of EVT in a court setting. Their goal was to determine whether EVT could be applied to autistic adults in a forensic setting, using autistic and non-autistic "defendants", hypothesizing that the results would show that autistic adults would be judged guilty due to violations. Results showed that their hypothesis was correct, despite evidence indicating innocence.
=== Intergroup solidarity and political betrayal === Recent research applies Expectancy Violations Theory to political behavior, distinguishing between violations of "stigma-based solidarity" and "relational care." Stigma-based solidarity creates a predictive expectation that marginalized groups will support one another due to shared experiences of discrimination; when a marginalized sub-group votes against these interests (e.g., Latino men supporting a candidate perceived as harmful to minorities), other marginalized groups (e.g., Black women) experience this as a severe "stigma-based solidarity betrayal." However, expectations can also stem from relational interdependence, leading to different patterns of betrayal for groups with dual identities or dominant-group connections. For instance, White women reported feeling significantly more betrayed by White men's voting behavior than by that of marginalized outgroups, despite the latter's violation of coalitional solidarity. This suggests that violations of "relational care" (expectations that close others, such as family members or partners, will protect one's rights) can supersede expectations of stigma-based solidarity, demonstrating that the psychological source of the expectancy (shared stigma versus relational ties) fundamentally shapes the experience of political betrayal.
== Metatheoretical assumptions ==
=== Ontological assumptions === EVT assumes that humans have a certain degree of free will. This theory assumes that humans can assess and interpret the relationship and liking between themselves and their conversational partner, and then make a decision whether or not to violate the expectations of the other person. The theory holds that this decision depends on what outcome they would like to achieve. This assumption is based on the interaction position. The interaction position is based on a person's initial stance toward an interaction as determined by a blend of personal Requirements, Expectations, and Desires (RED). These RED factors meld into a person's interaction position of what is needed, anticipated, and preferred.
=== Epistemological assumptions === EVT assumes that there are norms for all communication activities and if these norms are violated, there will be specific, predictable outcomes. EVT does not fully account for the overwhelming prevalence of reciprocity that has been found in interpersonal interactions. Secondly, it is silent on whether communicator valence supersedes behavior valence or vice versa when the two are incongruent, such as when a disliked partner engages in a positive violation.
=== Axiological assumptions === This theory seeks to be value-neutral as supporting studies have been conducted empirically and sought to objectively describe how humans react when their expectations are violated.
== Persuasion and Negotiation == A study done by Letwin, C., Ciuchta, M. P., Johnson, M., Stevenson, R., & Ford, C. in 2024, addresses the relationship between surface cues (attractiveness and enthusiasm) and success found in crowdfunding. They also find a relationship associated with gender involved as well. Their study delves into expectancy violation theory (EVT) and elaboration likelihood model (ELM) in order to investigate this. The authors claim that the cues either help or hurt the speaker, depending on the degree to which the speaker aligns with gender-based expectations or not. They found that gender non-congruent behavior in speakers resulted in deeper analysis by their audience for both the speaker and the pitch. Those who followed expectations, were not as deeply analyzed and were generally more accepted. Their final findings were enthusiastic males and attractive females had more success in crowdfunding pitches. In another study done by Moty, N., Putteeraj, M., Somanah, J., & Adnarain-Appadoo, K., also in 2024, they looked at gender stereotypes again. This time they relate it to personality traits, specifically what these two have to do with negotiation skills. They use expectancy violation theory to check in with the reactions people have to this relationship. They focused on the reaction people would have in a violation to gender-based norms. Their findings were that gender had almost nothing to do with negotiation success. Their biggest discovery was that individuals that had a high level of neuroticism indicated poor negotiation skills. They also found that meetings that were dominated by one gender, had an effect on negotiation behavior. Altogether, their studies found that gender has no real indication of a negotiator's success, but it is rather their personality traits that matter the most.
== Critique ==