Definition

Expectations are personal beliefs about occurrences that may take place in the future. Expectations develop from a combination of individuals' experiences and knowledge. For example, if one has the knowledge that a relative's birthday is next Saturday and experience indicates that a family get-together was held each of the past 5 years on that relative's birthday, then it is reasonable to have the expectation that a birthday celebration is likely to occur next Saturday. Expectations serve a basic function to prepare humans for action. The choices humans make are based on the expectations they hold for how their decisions will affect themselves and the world around them at some future time. Expectations range in certainty from a small possibility of occurrence to an almost certain ...