Thats MY spot!

How many times have you predicted something will happen and been wrong about it? Did this make you feel violated? If so than this theory will be useful! This week I will be writing about the Expectancy Violations Theory (EVT) by Judee Burgoon. Expectancy is what someone thinks will happen, instead of what they want to happen. Violation valence is the positive or negative aspect to a person’s expectations being wrong. Together, expectancy theory is the positive or negative aspects of what someone thinks will happen with an unexpected behavior no matter who is violating these expectations.

For this blog, I will be reflecting on past violations and referring these same violations to one of my own personal experiences and one of my favorite TV shows: The Big Bang Theory. I performed an experiment that is similar to a situation that happens often on the show. I took someone else’s seat in class and saw their reaction. 

This is "Sheldon's spot" from The Big Bang Theory. He is the only person allowed to sit here. When other people sit in his spot... Be prepared for them to get an earful of information they don't really want to get. 

The violation happened in COMM 321 during week 3 or 4. Generally by this time in the term everyone has “their” seat that they sit in (especially in a class of 28 students). The day had come for me to change things up a bit and take someone else’s spot. I generally sit in the back left corner (that is where I feel most comfortable) and today I was going to sit on the opposite side of the class closer to the front of the room by students I don’t know very well. I got to class early and took the unsuspecting students spot. One by one my classmates started filing into the class room. I got plenty of strange looks and I was even asked what “George” was going to do when he came into the class and saw that I was in his seat. I honestly didn't know how he was going to react. I hadn't ever talked to him before, but I had another friend sitting by me, so we were in this together! When “George” walked in he was shocked. He wasn't expecting anyone to be in his spot. He got flabbergasted and the class started to giggle a little. He then exclaimed “Now what am I supposed to do?! I can’t learn like this!” This again made the class laugh including our professor. And I told him I was violating his expectations by taking his seat in class. He didn't say much after that and took a different seat. 

This experiment turned out to be negative for both of us. We were both uncomfortable because he wasn't sitting in his normal seat and I wasn't sitting in mine. Our learning opportunities were hindered some because we were used to our routines and they both drastically changed for that class.

Even when I am in classes with more students, I generally have the seat that I sit in every single day. When I have to sit somewhere else because someone took my spot, I get a little dismayed. That is the seat that I found to be perfect and have sat there since the class started. Who do they think they are just taking someone else’s seat? I can’t get mad about it though because that isn't actually MY seat. My name isn't on it anywhere, so whenever someone else takes my seat, I feel violated and from now on I think of EVT.

In the pilot episode of The Big Bang Theory is the first of many times that viewers see EVT. Penny has just moved in across the hallway from Lenard and Sheldon and they invite her over for dinner. This then proceeds to happen…

As you can see, both Sheldon's and Penny's expectations have been violated. Sheldon didn't expect anyone to sit in his spot, and when it happens, he doesn't know where to sit or what to do.  Penny wasn't expecting for it to be such a big deal about where she sat, but she obviously expected wrong. I will show another clip of EVT between Sheldon and Penny. This one not relating to someone taking Sheldon's spot on the couch. You can skip to 2:40 if you don't want to watch the entire 3 minute video. 

Whenever Sheldon knocks on Penny's door, it always goes like this, *knock knock knock, "Penny", knock knock knock, "Penny", knock knock knock "Penny". It has become expected of Sheldon to always knock like that and for Penny to answer after the third "Penny". When Penny Violates these expectations, by knocking back to Sheldon and responding with his name, he is lost for words and doesn't know what to do. So he just keeps his routine going until she opens the door. 

There are countless number of clips that I could show you about EVT and The Big Bang Theory (mainly between Sheldon and Penny), but that would take hours upon hours for you to watch them all. I would just suggest watching all of the seasons! 

As you can see, EVT is important in communication. It is important to take each situation one at a time and not over or under react to each situation. If this happens, then another element of EVT can form; Communicator reward valence. This is the positive or negative traits that can bring a reward or punishment in the future.  In my case for taking another persons spot, my punishment could be not learning the material form that days class as well because I wasn't in a comfortable spot to learn. For Sheldon, his punishment/reward is his friends either never sitting in his spot or they sit in his spot on purpose to make him uncomfortable. 
Overall, EVT is probably my favorite theory because I can recognize it almost anywhere and everywhere. I hope after reading this blog you can too. Until next time! 


Katie