Defeated Expectancy – Effect or Situation?

The article deals with the problem of exploring the essence of the phenomenon of defeated expectancy. The multidimensionality of the mentioned phenomenon provides the possibility of viewing the effect of the defeated expectancy from different perspectives. It seems that there is no clear definition of the status of the defeated expectancy: the question - what is the defeated expectancy – is it an effect or a situation? - is still waiting to be answered. We consider the reason for this to be the fact that a complex analysis of the means of realizing the defeated expectation has not been carried out. The conducted research gave us an opportunity to answer the mentioned question. The factors causing the phenomenon of defeated expectancy have been integrated into two groups:


Introduction
The definition of the phenomenon of expectation by linguists differs according to the types of expectation.This fact leads to the aspectuality of the analysis of the mentioned phenomenon.The majority of linguists distinguish communicative expectation (representing the principles of the relationship) from linguistic expectation (characterized by the language system).The definitions of the phenomenon of expectation differ according to different genesis of expectation, in other words, a specific definition is relevant only for an expectation with a specific genesis.The mentioned approach cannot provide a comprehensive view of the phenomenon of expectation in general.
The effect of the defeated expectancy, as a problem of an individual's emotional reaction to the perceived object (text), is observed in various fields of knowledge.
In the use of language, the speaker reveals his/her creative potential which implies the intentional violation of the linguistic norms as well as the manipulation through the misuse of the linguistic norms.It is through manipulation that the effect of the defeated expectancy is created.
The effect of the defeated expectancy occurs when the essence of the utterance turns out to be unexpected, in other words, when the generated version of the utterance turns out to be different from the predictable version.The effect of the defeated expectancy is observed on the basis of the two psycholinguistic phenomena -predictability and unpredictability.
In the research, the situation is viewed as the scheme that serves to describe mental representations.According to this model, the speaker dealing with this or that situation constructs an alternative situation -a counter-situation, which allows overcoming ambiguity and predicting the further development of the situation.
The factors affecting the production of the counter-situation are grouped into the factors: 1.That are related to the speaker's age, gender, social status and profession, degree of physical and moral maturity, language competence, presence, or absence of sense of humour, degree of emotionality.
2. That are related to the situation.
The situational factors comprise: 1. Composition of the text fragment.
2. The frequency of characters and situations of the text in the context of the given culture.

The means of perceiving the text (auditory or visual).
4. The language of narration (native or foreign).
5. Overcoming the ambiguity related to the sufficiency of the context.6. Understanding the stylistic features of the text.
Constructing the counter-situation includes three main stages: 1.At the initial stage, the recipient is informed of a fragment (section) of the text, which includes an ambiguous (polysemantic) element.
2. The recipient produces an option to resolve the situation.
3. The recipient contrasts the counter-situation with the original scenario.
The incompliance between the counter-situation constructed by the recipient and the original situation creates the effect of the defeated expectancy.The main pillars that guide the recipient's thought are: 1. Relying on the previous context.
2. Relying on a similar situation.

Relying on a stereotype.
Text comprehension relies on peculiar forms of storage and functioning of socially significant knowledge.At first, a polysemantic word is perceived in a context that, at first glance, seems to be the only one.Only the node, in which the other meaning of the word is activated, reveals its multiple meanings and the possibility of developing a completely different scenario.
Defeated expectancy is related to the language game, in other words, there are points of intersection between defeated expectancy and the communication game: in order to adequately understand the language game, it is necessary that the recipient has experiential knowledge; in addition, the addressee must also take into account the cultural space in which communication takes place.Thus, defeated expectancy is precisely a communication game.Intentional creation of the situation of the defeated expectancy implies the deviation from the norm.Like any game, communication game requires considerable effort.

Methodology
The knowledge and ideas about the world are organized in human consciousness.This fact ensures the quick availability of meanings in the process of perceiving and interpreting the message.Any act of interpretation involves relating information to the knowledge schemes.We can argue about the existence of an internal (mental) context.Obviously, this context is the basis for the generation and perception of the expression.
The success of the perception process is ensured by the constant correlation of the information coming from the external (textual) context with the internal context of interpretation.So, the cause of misunderstanding is not only ignorance of the meaning of words but also the difference in the mental lexicon of the communicators, which implies a discrepancy between the background knowledge, representations, associations, and mental images of communicators.The latter is determined by the peculiarities of the communicators' perceptual, cognitive and affective experience at the moment of perception.
The analysis of the phenomenon of defeated expectancy is focused on the search for conceptual constructs that have the ability to represent knowledge, emotion, and feeling in the form of an integral representational space.One of the possibilities for implementing the mentioned approach is the linguo-cognitive modeling of the situation of the defeated expectancy.
The research on the phenomenon of defeated expectancy is carried out at the intersection of cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics.Therefore, defeated expectancy is discussed in connection with such psycholinguistic phenomena as the ambiguity of the text, expectation, prediction, and probability.
In the research, the features of the functioning of the cognitive mechanisms in the situation of the defeated expectancy are presented as the models of integration of mental spaces of expectation, explaining the strategic nature of the process of speech perception, taking into account the principle of probable prediction.
The ability to generate new models is significantly conditioned by the functioning of the anthropocentric paradigm in linguistics and the validity of the tools of cognitive psychology for psycholinguistic research.
An experiment was conducted in order to identify the causes of the situation of the defeated expectancy and to study its different aspects.The experimental research represents a description of the linguo-cognitive model of the defeated expectancy.
There is no model that covers all the features of the modeled object.However, this is not necessary either since the task of modeling is to identify the essential features of the phenomenon of the defeated expectancy.
The process of the data processing of the experimental research involves "replaying" the situation or event presented by the text stimulus in the mind of informants.The next stage of the experimental research implies recording the informants' reactions.Composition, completion, and elaboration affect the nature of the counter text (Coulson, S. & Fauconnier., G. 1999., Fake  The analysis of the counter texts obtained as a result of the experimental research revealed that when understanding a verbal message and constructing an alternative verbal message, the speaker predicts the probability of this or that end of the situation.Probabilistic prediction is based on the expectations formed by matching the knowledge, viewpoints, external and internal contexts.
The phenomenon of the defeated expectancy, and therefore its empirical research, is quite specific: on the one hand, defeated expectancy is a psychological state, on the other hand, the effect of the defeated expectancy often appears in the dialogic speech and is evidenced in the verbal reaction of the individual perceiving the text.
In order to study the specifics of the text perception, we applied the method of completing the linguistic sign -the method of completion of the expression (Taylor, J.R., 1995., Linguistic Categorization: Prototypes in Linguistic Theory [Text]. -2nd ed / J.R. Taylor.-Oxford Clarendon Press, p. 327).
The method of completing the linguistic sign is based on the predetermined deformation of the text.
The full version of the text stimulus sounds the following way: The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.
The informants were asked to complete the text stimulus: The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that __________.
The informants produced the following counter-texts: 1.The saint is in heaven after death, while the sinner is in hell.
2. The saint is close to God, while the sinner is close to Devil.
3. The saint is dead, and the sinner is alive.
4. The saint is alive in Heaven, and the sinner is alive in Hell.
5. The saint is alive in Heaven, and the sinner is alive on Earth.
6.The saints are in the majority, while the sinners are in the minority.
The analysis revealed that the majority of the produced counter-texts are based on the following: • The association of neighboring locations in space: "saint in heaven; the sinner in hell; saint with God; sinner with Devil.
Among the counter-texts produced by informants, the version of the original text was not evidenced.
In an "ordinary" text stimulus, the sequence of events is predictable.The "unpredictable" text stimulus is characterized by a certain "incompatibility" or "contradiction," although here we are dealing not with the fantastic development of events but with the unexpectedness typical of real life.
When selecting the text stimuli, we relied on the idea that the proposed texts should describe more or less typical situations for real life so that the informants could easily imagine this or that situation and think of the end of the scenario.
Another important criterion for the selection of the material is the condensity of the form of the text stimuli since our goal is to minimize the influence of the external textual context and to identify the internal context of interpretation.
According to the creative cognitive approach, despite the mood, intention, and readiness for creative thinking, informants cannot suppress the influence of their past experiences.The mentioned experience determines the more or less typical ending of the text stimuli.The data analysis of the experiment confirmed that creative thinking can overcome the boundaries of one's own knowledge and viewpoints, although a person can never be freed from his own knowledge and viewpoints.
The special interest of our research is to identify the impact of the human mental lexicon, the impact of human cognitive experience on the specifics of the percep-tion of this or that text stimulus.Identifying the mentioned influence provides an opportunity to explain the reason (basis) for the formation of this or that expectation.
When perceiving and completing the text stimulus, informants operate with concepts that form certain groups during the experiment.The interaction of the elements of the reasoning process corresponds to the theory of mental spaces (Fauconnier, G., 1994., Mental Spaces: Aspects of Meaning Construction in Natural Language [Text] / G. Fauconnier.-Cambridge, etc.: Cambridge Univ.Press,p. 190) as well as to the theory of conceptual blending (Fauconnier, G., and Turner, M., 1998., Conceptual  According to the mentioned theories, the individual's ability to perform different types of activities (reasoning, forming a conclusion, etc.) is based on conceptual integration as the most important type of mental operation.In the mental space, information is combined according to its characteristics.This means that the elements of information are integrated into the mental space.
Mental space serves the conceptual organization and occupies an intermediate position between the situation to be described, linguistic structures, and its descriptors (Fauconnier, G., 1994., Mental Spaces: Aspects of Meaning Construction in Natural Language / G. Fauconnier.-Cambridge etc.: Cambridge Univ.Press,p. 190).
In the paper, the linguistic structure is discussed in the context of the theory of mental spaces (Coulson, S. & Fauconnier, G., 1999., Fake Guns and Stone Lions: Conceptual and Privative Adjectives // Cognition and Function in Language / B. Fox, D. Jurafsky & L Michaelis (Eds.)-Palo Alto, CA: CSLI).According to the mentioned theory, incoming information is a kind of support for communicators to relate linguistic information to their own background knowledge and external context.It is with the support of this connection that understanding and processing of the verbal situation takes place.

Results and Discussion
We don't consider the problem of an individual's emotional reaction to the perceived text to be a purely linguistic one -the mentioned problem intersects in the fields of cognitive psychology, discourse philosophy, and cybernetics, within which speech is considered to be the type of the probabilistic process.
Expectations for the correct development of communication manifest themselves in the situations of defeated expectancy, which arise on the basis of the two psycholinguistic phenomena -predictability and unpredictability.Defeated expectancy is related to the breakdown of social, behavioral, and linguistic stereotypes and is the basis of communicative expressiveness.
In cognitive psychology, expectations are explained in terms of prediction, in other words, in cognitive psychology, the effect of the defeated expectancy is related to the least expected outcome of the situation.
It should be noted that the events characterized by approximately the same probability of occurrence do not always surprise us with equal strength.Thus, surprise can be caused not by the low probability of the occurrence of this or that event but by the degree of the contrast between unexpected and expected but unoccurred events, in other words, surprise can be caused by the degree of the contrast between the expectation and the original development of the scenario.
Meyer and Schvaneveldt believe that the phenomenon of surprise arises when the expectations based on previously constructed schemas are disconfirmed (David E Meyer; Roger W Schvaneveldt., 1971., Facilitation in recognizing pairs of words: Evidence of a dependence between retrieval operations.Journal of Experimental Psychology 90(2):227-32).Some scientists believe that the generation of expectations and anticipations is determined by the influence of implicit memory, while others think that the generation of expectations and anticipations is determined by the influence of the priming effect.
In the assessment of the implicit memory during priming, preference is given to a previously heard word or seen situation.This is a change that manifests itself under the influence of past experiences.Priming is carried out independently of the will of the individual and without the intervention of consciousness.
Priming may occur when one word is associated with another.Meyer and Schvaneveldt showed that one word can facilitate the processing and recognition of the next word.This effect is called associative priming and may arise as a result of purely semantic connections between words or because specific words are often used together and are thus associated with each other (David E Meyer; Roger W Schvaneveldt., 1971., Facilitation in recognizing pairs of words: Evidence of a dependence between retrieval operations.Journal of Experimental Psychology 90(2):227-34).
In cognitive psychology, the priming effect is interpreted as an indirect assessment of the influence of past experience on a particular intellectual operation.Priming is related to implicit (unconscious) memory.It should be noted that priming is a stable indicator of memory.
Experiments confirm that accessing the effect of priming on text perception, in other words, accessing the specifics of the relationship between expectation and surprise, is not an easy task.
The expectancy-disconfirmation hypothesis is associated with the attempt to deal with this complex task.According to the mentioned hypothesis, the phenomenon of surprise occurs when expectations based on the previously constructed schemas are not confirmed.
In many studies, the concept of the mechanism of "guessing" (constructing a hypothesis) appears.The functioning of the mentioned mechanism is provided by the connection between the text and the background knowledge.Due to this connection, it is possible to predict the possible scenario of the development of the situation.According to R. Shenk and R. Abelson, the ability to predict is based on the ability to recall typical schemas (Schank, R.C. & Abelson, R., 1977., Scripts, Plans, Goals, and Understanding.Hillsdale, NJ: Earlbaum Assoc.).
The ability of probabilistic forecasting is related to the specifics of the organization of memory -the information about events and their sequence is stored in the past experience of an individual.If we humans lived in a strictly deterministic environment of events, forecasting would not require special effort.
From a psycholinguistic point of view, context exists "in the hearer's mind" since the act of interpretation cannot take place without the connections between the lingual information integrated into the text and the knowledge schemas.The mentioned schemas create associative internal contexts.
The participation of the mechanism of probability in the process of speech production and perception implies the construction of mental models of the perceived objects.The mentioned models are determined by the specifics of the recipient's conceptual sphere and the volume and quality of his/her background knowledge.
According to scientists, the relationship between expectations and surprise is not as simple as it seems.The results of the conducted experiments showed that the representations constructed by the recipients while understanding the sections of the text have a direct impact on the perception of subsequent events.The ability to recognize and retrieve an object from memory changes properties as a result of the priming effect.
During the entire process of perception, an individual perceiving speech evaluates the messages intended for him.In this process, the willingness to accept this or that stereotype is observed.But when expectations are not confirmed, the recipient does not immediately realize the error.
The perception of the message depends not only on the situational context but also on the whole complex of internal cognitive contexts.In the process of interaction, the formation of the new cognitive model with new elements and objects of reality implies relying on the closest internal contexts for constructing the cognitive representation.Therefore, the process of identification is never carried out in a decontextualized vacuum.Even an unknown word presented to a person outside the context calls out certain information in his cognition.
Thus, the basis of misunderstanding lies not only in such factors as ignorance of the additional meanings of words and parallelism of the thought process but also in the qualitative differences of the internal lexicon of communicators, the variety of the connotative fields of the lexeme and, accordingly, the lack of some associations -the lack of non-verbal images and implications in the mind of the communicator.The mentioned factors provoke the emergence of the effect of the defeated expectancy.
The specific organization of an individual's memory provides information not only about the storage of past events but also the information about the sequence and frequency of these events.The mentioned feature of human memory determines the ability to predict.Our reality is a probabilistically organized environment, so our memory is only capable of predicting future events.When predicting, an individual chooses one of several alternative messages stored in long-term memory.This message is the most acceptable one for a given context.
Obviously, without probabilistic prediction, any activity would be impossible: probabilistic prediction is the approximate modeling of the world by an individual living in this world.
In the process of perceiving and processing the text, the common elements of the incoming mental spaces are identified.This is how a "generic space," projecting the characteristics of one space onto another space, is created.
Projection of elements of incoming spaces is characterized by selectivity: 1.Not all elements are projected into the merged unit.
2. There may be elements in the merged unit that are not evidenced in the incoming spaces.
The existence of these elements is observed in frames and knowledge schemes.Thus, the processing of incoming information is a multi-stage process of integration.
The main mechanisms of conceptual integration are composition, completion, and elaboration.Each mechanism affects the nature of the processed information.The mechanism of composition performs an attributive function -it matches the information of one mental space with the elements of another mental space.
The mechanism of completion functions when the projection of the incoming information corresponds to the data accumulated in the long-term memory.
Processing involves the mental construction of a situation or phenomenon resulting from conceptual integration.It means that when a "collision" with the elements of the new information occurs, the individual perceiving speech can model the situation through the elements that are already familiar to him/her.
We believe that the word is a key to the integral informational base of a person.The mentioned information base stores the data obtained as a result of the processing of the past (rational and non-rational, individual and social) experiences of the individual.Thus, in the paper, the completion of the text stimulus begins with the identification of words.In the paper, the word is understood as a necessary and sufficient unit for a multifaceted and functional reflection of reality.
In the process of perceiving and understanding the situation represented by the text, the meaning of the word is actualized in the context of the given situation, which is the only one for the individual at the given moment.Then other lexical meanings are activated, and the individual tries to find out how important these elements are for decoding the given situation.As soon as the individual's attention is focused on some feature, this feature acquires the status of an independent object, which, in turn, also has a certain repertoire of features.
A person himself can create new characteristics by projecting existing knowledge and previously acquired connections to a new situation.Thus, it can be assumed that at this stage, we are dealing with the space of expectations, the main element of which is the contextual meanings of words.The latter creates the text of the situation, certain structures of knowledge and experience (concepts, schemes, scenes, frames, prototypes) that are accumulated in memory.The elements of the space of expectations are projected onto the elements of the incoming spaces, resulting in a generic space.
The process of perceiving the situation represented by the text is governed by associative connections.This fact reveals the influence of semantic priming.Association is carried out in parallel in several directions, and one association "calls" another.The forms of knowledge that make up the mental model of the situation exist in the individual's consciousness before the activation of the process of perceiving the text.In order to understand a specific fragment (episode) of the text, the individual should transfer the representation of a scene similar to the event described in the given episode of the text from long-term memory to working memory.
The incoming information in the situation of the defeated expectancy corresponds to the individual's knowledge schemas, which are formed based on the individual's past experiences.In the situation of defeated expectancy, the incoming information is categorized according to the associative connections of a particular informant.
Then attention is focused on the external verbal (textual) context.
As a result of the data analysis, the following regularities were revealed: • Despite all their originality and individuality, even the most atypical expectations do not go beyond the framework of the individual's perceptual-cognitive-affective experience.
• Atypical and unpredictable counter texts are only as atypical and unpredictable as the informant's knowledge, and experience allow them to be atypical and unpredictable.
• Defeated expectancy is created by the difference between the mental representations of the elements of information to be perceived.
• The difference between the representations of the elements is the reason for the incompatibility of the informants' expectations.
• All types of expectations are united by an integral feature -an individual's stereotyped attitude towards the expected object.In other words, all types of expectations are based on the existence of the knowledge about the peculiarities of the agreement between the linguistic units, the representation of the speakers about the "ordinary development of the situation," or the knowledge about the principles of effective communication.
• In the situation of the defeated expectancy, the incoming information corresponds to the individual's knowledge schemas, which are formed based on the individual's past experiences.In the situation of the defeated expectancy, the incoming information is categorized according to the associative connections.
• In the process of understanding the verbal message and constructing an alternative verbal message, the subject "replays," predicts, and evaluates the probability of this or that end of the situation represented by the text.Probabilistic forecasting is based on the expectations, which are formed due to the compliance between the knowledge and viewpoint of the informant, the external (textual) context, and the output information.
• The quality and the volume of the mental spaces of expectation are determined by the degree of the priming effect, in other words, the influence of "foreseeing".The data analysis of the experimental research revealed the dominance of the influence of semantic priming, which implies the involvement of associative thinking and the establishment of associative relations in the process of constructing the text.
• In addition to the external context, the internal context of interpretation is included in the process of perceiving the situation represented by the text, in other words, the result of the multidimensional cognitive-affective-receptive experience of the informant is included in the process of perceiving the situation represented by the text.
• The analysis of the obtained counter texts showed that in the process of perceiving the situation represented by the text, the following components of mental activity are distinguished: concentration on the signs (words) representing the semantic nodes of the given text.The mentioned component involves moving to the level of mental representations.
• Expectations, as a "repository" of the individual structures of knowledge, differ from individual to individual.This fact explains the reasons for communication failure.It is communicative failure that causes the effect of the defeated expectancy in both interpersonal and intercultural communication.

Conclusion
The quality and structure of the mental spaces of expectation are determined by the influence of the priming effect and are based on formal motivational elements.
The creation of the effect of the defeated expectancy is dominated by the semantic type of priming, implying the participation of associative thinking in the process of constructing the text.
The conducted research gave us an opportunity to explore the essence of the phenomenon of the defeated expectancy.We consider the mentioned phenomenon to be a game, the main principle of which is the inconsistency of predictable (expected) and unpredictable (unexpected) versions, where the mentioned inconsistency is created by the violation of conventionalism.
Guns and Stone Lions: Conceptual and Privative Adjectives // Cognition and Function in Language / B. Fox, D. Jurafsky & L. Michaelis (Eds.).-Palo Alto, CA: CSLI).The representations of the same situation or phenomenon differ from individual to individual.The mentioned difference is conditioned by the difference between the life experiences of individuals.In the counter texts constructed by different individuals, different knowledge schemes are identified.The mentioned constructs are determined by the specifics of the individuals' past experiences.