On the Concept of "Expectations"

A brief survey of the literature on the relationships between expectations, evaluations and performances precedes a theoretical elaboration of the concept of "expectations" as it has been used by Berger, Cohen, Zelditch and associates. The proposals that make up the elaboration are discussed and specific areas of empirical research arising from them are indicated. Finally, the theoretical advantages of the elaboration are illustrated: first, it can be used to explain the resistance to change that expectations, under a variety of circumstances, have been reported to offer and second, it permits treatment of the concept of "strength of an expectation" in a systematic fashion.