Taxi!!!

I don't usually ride a taxi to go where ever I wanted to go. A taxi ride is so expensive, and the thought of a twenty pesos minimum fair really pisses me off; and besides we have the ever loyal “jeepneys” to do the job for just over seven pesos.
But yesterday was different; and yesterday was Monday and that's when I usually return to the dormitory. Of course, I had lots of baggages and it was really difficult for me to handle all of them. So I had no choice but to ride a taxi. So I got into one, and I asked the driver to take me to Roxas, specifically in front of Ateneo de Davao University. While the vehicle was moving, I was very silent but a bit agitated because of my baggages. Then surprisingly, the driver spoke to me. He asked me a question which I did not expected. These were his exact words: “Day, aha na nimu gipalit imong bag og tagpila pud na..?”. See what I mean when I say I did not expected it? But I answered him with decency and politeness. I really thought that he wouldn't ask questions anymore but his previous question led to more questions like: where did you get your bag?, what is your school?, How come you wanted to be taken to Ateneo?, What's your school like?, and Is it difficult to get boarding houses in your school?DO you want some mangoes?
What was he thinking????,
It was like a part of me was being slowly stripped out. At that time I don't know if it's really necessary to answer his questions;I began wondering his motives. But with all that skepticism happening in my mind, still I had answered all his questions before we arrived at Ateneo. Why? You may ask....well Judee Burgoon has the answer........
Judee Burgoon's Expectancy Violation Theory, states that expectancies exert significant influence on people's interaction patterns, on their impression of one another and of the outcomes of their reaction.
That's why at first, I was very hesitant to answer the taxi driver's questions. I did not expected that a stranger like him would ask me personal questions like that. I evaluated his motives because I felt that he was invading that personal barrier that was between us. But why did I end up answering his questions? Well, again Judie Burgoon has an answer for that...
In her theory there is what we call “violation valence”, which refers to the positive value we place on a specific “unexpected behavior”, regardless of who does it.
So, it is up to me if my response to a violation is negative or positive. In our case, I responded positively to the unexpected behavior of the taxi driver by answering all his questions truthfully. But why do so?
Burgoon thinks that when someone violates our expectation and there's no social consensus as to the meaning of that act, the issue of reward potential moves from the background to the foreground of our minds(Griffin). She uses the term “communication valence” to label the results of our mental audit of likely gains and losses(Griffin).
So even though the taxi driver asked me so many questions and a couple of personal questions too, I did not think that his motives may go way beyond from what I could have imagined. He looks just like an ordinary taxi driver and he sure dress like one. He was probably just so friendly yet little bit nosy. Anyway the point is, that status, ability, and good looks are standard “goodies” that enhance the other person's reward potential(Griffin). However, most of us value words that communicate acceptance, liking,appreciation and trust(Griffin).
So I guess, the theory of Judee Burgoon had explained it all. So the next time I ride a taxi, I will not be so surprise if the driver asks me so much questions; they're just naturally friendly.

P.S: the name of the driver was not mentioned in this entry due to personal issues; I might invade his own personal bubble......what the???