Complex sentence: Expectancy Violations Theory builds upon a number of communication axioms; most central to the understanding of EVT, however, is the assumption that humans have competing needs for personal space and for affiliation.
Split into simpler sentences: Expectancy Violations Theory builds upon a number of communication axioms. Most central to the understanding of EVT, however, is the assumption that humans have two competing needs; one for personal space, and the other for affiliation.