Nonverbal Expectancy Violations Theory

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When they designed the Nonverbal Expectancy Violations theory, Judee Burgoon and Steven Jones had intended to “explain the consequences of changes in distance and personal space during interpersonal communication interactions,” (Infante 130). Nonverbal Expectancy Violations Theory, or NEVT, has been in a constant state of revision and expansion since its development, and today, according to the textbook, Contemporary Communication Theory, NEVT explains “a wide range of communication outcomes associated with violations of expectations about nonverbal communication behavior,” (130). According to the theory, there are several factors that influence how we react to violations, these factors include our expectancies of the interaction, how we interpret …show more content…

I had gone to the cafeteria by myself and sat alone at a table with a bar set up (this was before the renovations and I don’t believe this table is there now). The rest of the bar was empty until another girl sat down right next to me and asked for my phone number at the end of our interaction. Now, my initial expectancies were that, if anyone else were to sit down at the table, they would put at least one chair distance between us. The first violation was that the girl sat down right next to me. From here, she began to try talking with me and I spent the entire conversation giving short answers to topics, using words such as “yeah,” and “uh-huh,” and not really making eye contact as her proximity had already made me uncomfortable. In this situation, my expectancies we violated as I hadn’t anticipated anyone sitting right next to me at an open table. In this situation, it is often the norm for the one person to find a different table, or put some space between the two. If no other space is available, usually the other party asks if the seat is taken, and then proceeds to ask if they could occupy it. This did not happen in my experience. At the end of the interaction, the girl asked me for my cell phone number, even though we didn’t really know one another and I didn’t intend to see

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