The purpose of the paper is to present theoretical-methodological critical analysis of social expectations of an individual in a historical dimension. It examines and outlines a historical component of trends in the research on social expectations in the world scientific literature and practice. The study determines and characterizes the following trends in the research on social expectations of an individual: philosophical, sociological, neurophysiological, psychological, social-psychological and the trend of construction of the future. It analyzes the current state of the development of social expectations of an individual in the context of the history of everyday life. The research reveals the essence and psychological content features of all the trends in the research. We come to the conclusion that a historical dimension of social expectations of an individual arranges the acquired knowledge about the trends in the research subject