<P> This theory sees communication as an exchange of behaviors, where one individual's behavior can be used to violate the expectations of another . Participants in communication will perceive the exchange either positively or negatively, depending upon an existing personal relationship or how favorably the violation is perceived . Violations of expectancies cause arousal and compel the recipient to initiate a series of cognitive appraisals of the violation . The theory predicts that expectancies influence the outcome of the communication interaction as either positive or negative and predicts that positive violations increase the attraction of the violator and negative violations decrease the attraction of the violator . </P> <P> Beyond proxemics and examining how people interpret violations in many given communicative contexts, EVT also makes specific predictions about individuals' reaction to given expectation violations: individuals reciprocate or match someone's unexpected behavior, and they also compensate or counteract by doing the opposite of the communicator's behavior . </P> <P> The expectancy violations theory examines three main components in interpersonal communication situations: Expectancies, communicator reward valence, and violation valence . </P> <P> Expectancy refers to what an individual anticipates will happen in a given situation . Expectancies are primarily based upon social norms and specific characteristics and idiosyncrasies of the communicators . </P>

The three core concepts of expectancy violations theory are