Surprise is therefore dependent on expectations, behaviors and interpretations.
Since expectations are a key element of surprise, how and why expectations arise in different beholders is central. Expectations arise from metaphors and concepts that provide order and understanding to science and society. Concepts are rooted in experience and since concepts are incomplete, eventually they produce surprises. The longer expectations are held beyond their time, the greater the degree of surprise and adjustment. Risk signals are messages about a technology, activity, or event indicating that a new risk has appeared or that an existing risk is more or less serious or manageable than previously thought.