Expectancy Violations Theory examines how departures from anticipated communication are interpreted through context, relationship, and communicator evaluation. Violations can be favorable or unfavorable; surprise alone predicts neither. Application establishes the audience baseline, considers competing appraisals, and observes responses while preserving ethical and professional boundaries.
- FamilyModel
- CategoryTheories & Explanatory Models
- DomainConversation & Relationships
What these mean
Editorial orientation · Family
Model
In this series, Model names the editorial family primarily used to understand and explain communication: theories, frameworks, effects, traditions, principles and other conceptual resources. It is an umbrella for a route into the field, not a claim that every included object is a predictive model.
Editorial orientation · Category
Theories & Explanatory Models
Explains how or why a communication process works by relating mechanisms, conditions or variables. Its value is an account that can guide inquiry into what produces an outcome, rather than a name for the outcome alone.