Theories Of Critical Incidents

Critical incidents occur on an every day basis, and examining them forces us to investigate the situation deeper. The critical incident I experienced can connect and relate to many communication theories we have learned about thus far. As a junior in high school, my priorities were completely focused on school, college and the SAT’s. Worrying about anything else was completely out of the question. I never thought I would have an immense amount of family drama that would change me, and my life. It began when I was calmly studying for the SAT’s in my bedroom when I heard my father raise his voice at my mother in the kitchen. I crept out of my room, sat on the top of the stairs and began to ease drop. It was a confusing conversation but I could tell that my father was accusing my mom of seeing another man. After about thirty minutes I forced

This theory focuses on the expectations that are developed before approaching a situation. Any type of interaction comes with many assumptions whether it is realized or not. These expectations are based on characteristics, and the context of the situation. The violation valence is “the perceived positive or negative value assigned to a breach of expectations, regardless of who the violator is” (Griffin, Ledbetter, Sparks 87). My expectations were completely mistaken when confronting my mother. Society and media had taught me to believe that divorced parents result in bad family dynamics and relationships. I assumed that as soon as I confronted my mom, our relationship would be diminished. In this situation I exceeded and violated my own expectations of myself. Although I initially acted immaturely in my outburst, I heard my mom out, believed her, and did not hold a grudge. The reason I had a positive violation was because I tried to salvage our family, and our relationships with each