What Expectations Do You Have Of Others?

The relationships we have — with your spouse, your friends, your boss, your neighbors, and so on — define our lives. Do you have any expectations of those people, or of those relationships?

As we navigate our lives, we build mental models of the world around us. The sun rises every day in the east, and sets in the west, for example. We can predict that, based on our previous experiences, combined with what we have learned.

Naturally, that includes the people around us. At first, your parents, and perhaps siblings. Then schoolmates, teachers, etc. What they say, how they act, teaches you about what people are like.

So what have you learned? What kinds of behaviors and actions are a baseline? Moreover, do those expectations change for someone you know well, versus someone you are meeting for the first time?

Imagine someone else exceeding your expectations. What would that mean? What are the basic things in another human being that you anticipate?

Similarly, how might someone fall below the behavior you have come to expect. Does that happen often?

Are there other factors that might influence those expectations, like age, religion, gender, political party, musical taste, hobbies, and so on?

Finally, how might that change between yourself and others? Do you expect more of yourself than someone else, or less? Do you think others would agree with your opinion in this regard?

Related questions: What are our responsibilities to others? How do you know who to trust? How important is respect? What gives a person value?