I created this blog for my final project in COML 595 A1 Summer Module 2019. Click this blog post for the suggested reading order.

A First Look at Communication Theory. (2014, January 29). Retrieved July 12, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kmnZIxiYHk Burgoon, J. K. (2016). Expectancy Violations Theory (C. R. Berger & M. E. Roloff, Eds.). The International Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Communication, First Edition, 1-9. doi:DOI:10.1002/9781118540190.wbeic0102 Griffin, E. A., Ledbetter, A., & Sparks, G. G. (2015). A first look at communication theory. New York:… Read more

Throughout my career interpersonal communication has been something I have challenged myself to improve in both professional and personal relationships. Through experience and time I have learned more about the boundaries to avoid crossing in the workplace as well as what my own boundaries and threat thresholds are. When applying the lens of expectancy violation… Read more

Critiques of Burgoon’s expectancy violations theory noted by Em Griffin are that experiment test results have not always matched the EVT model, leading to mixed results over the years. Regardless, Burgoon’s EVT meets five out of six criteria of a good scientific theory outlined in the Griffin text (Griffin, et al., 2015, p.92). The meaning… Read more

An important concept of expectations violations theory is understanding expectations. “Expectations are enduring cognitions about the behavior anticipated of others” (Burgoon, Berger, & Roloff, 2016, p. 2). Expectations come from social norms associated with particular situations and personal knowledge of the other person in the interaction. A stranger will base their expectations off of the… Read more

Judee Burgoon’s expectancy violations theory (EVT) has an interesting origin story. Burgoon was a student given an assignment to make sense out of literature on proxemics. In the video below Em Griffin, author of the textbook used for this course: A First Look at Communication, interviews communication theorist Judee K. Burgoon about expectancy violations theory.… Read more