The term expectations is simply economist jargon for forecasts.

For every action, a person relies on his or her forecasts

of the future; that's the whole point of acting, to try to influence

future events. The text dealt with an example of Crusoe

building a raft, only to realize he couldn't get out to the open

sea. But even more mundane actions rely on expectations. For

example, Crusoe "expects" that if he climbs a tree, he will be

able to knock coconuts down, and that the coconuts will not be

full of spiders when he cracks them open.