Expectations and Problems

Disrupted expectations create a gap between the situations people expect and the situations people actually encounter. Gerald Smith, a decision scientist, points out that if we experience a gap such as this, the gap matters to us, and if it is difficult to close the gap we are likely to label it a problem. For example, Mindy thought of her situation as a problem because her son was to be expelled from an organization in which she expected him to participate productively and happily. The pilots had a problem because they expected to fly to Las Palmas and back but were unable to do so. These gaps mattered, and they were hard to close.

Once we think of gaps such as these as problems, the problem label implies that the appropriate response to that gap is to solve it—to restore the situation to its expected state. Therefore, Mindy felt compelled to restore her son's membership in the community organization and the pilots felt compelled to complete the flight plan that had been disrupted.

Sometimes, it is appropriate to label the gap that an interruption creates a problem. This is true when it is possible, desirable, and ethical to try to restore a situation to its previous or its expected state. Many situations, however, cannot or should not be returned to their previous or expected states. For example, when Mindy's son violated the organization's rules, he created a new situation; he had taken actions that had consequences, he was fully aware of those consequences, and all of the other members of the organization were aware of the consequences. To restore him to his previous state would undermine both the rules and the consequences for him and for the other members of the organization. In Los Rodeos, completing the flight as quickly as possible was an unsafe expectation. Trying to solve these problems did more harm than good. It would have been more productive to question the validity of these expectations given the new situations that had emerged.