subjective uncertainty reduction theory

Wichman, A. L. (2010). In C. P. Smith (Ed. Conceivably, environmental uncertainty might augment compliance to norms and thus reduce creativity and innovation. Orientation to certainty did amplify biases against other groups, especially under conditions of high uncertainty. This effect of uncertainty was pronounced in European American or individualist, but not Asian American or collectivist, participants. As a consequence, the effects of these manipulations could, potentially, be ascribed to other either similar or dissimilar mechanisms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 472-488. Rios, K., Wheeler, S. C., & Miller, D. T. (2012). Diversity in the team might overcome this problem, because the norms are not as rigid and defined. Inzlicht, M., McGregor, I., Hirsh, J. These stage theories instill a sense of order and predictability. 182-199). This dogma entails some information about existence--about how the world operates and which behaviors are suitable (Hogg, Adelman, & Blagg, 2010). Uncertainty reduction theory offers axioms and derived theorems that describe communicative and noncommunicative causes and consequences of uncertainty. A study in ego-functioning: Elimination of stable anchorages in individual and group situations. 148-181). Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 926-40. Participants receive sentence prompts and are instructed to construct four stories in response to these words. This gives you a feeling of uncertaint… Accordingly, individualistic individuals may be especially uneasy with uncertainty about themselves& these individuals like to perceive themselves as consistent over time with unambiguous traits (Morrison & Johnson, 2011). A study of normative and informational influence upon individual judgment. Finally, the structure of these organizations is often defined clearly. Jacobson, J. A. (1999). This relationship was mediated by the frequency of interactions in which an individual participated. Accordingly, if their perception of themselves had been bolstered, they did not feel they need to reinforce their challenged beliefs. Furthermore, they were asked to indicate the degree to which they would like their children to be obedient rather than other traits. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Hewstone, M., Rubin, M., & Willis, H. (2002). Similarly, Dunn (1998) argues that rigid ideologies offer a sense of clarity in postmodern times, epitomized by unlimited choice and moral relativity. Morrison, K. R., & Johnson, C. S. (2011). Members embrace similar beliefs, attitudes, and values as well as enact homogenous behaviors. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 21, 91-102. If participants wrote their attitude with their non-preferred hand, and thus doubted their beliefs, they devoted more effort to their attempts to persuade someone else. That is, when individuals experience a sense of uncertainty, they feel their identity or status might be threatened. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. They are not sure which behaviors are appropriate. Uncertainty and identification 2 Abstract Two studies examined the effects of self-uncertainty and ingroup entitativity on group identification. The support for autonomy and the control of behavior. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49-74. Two variants of uncertainty may be experienced: uncertainty about how the other person will react and uncertainty about why the person reacted a specific way. Interestingly, Robinson, Fetterman, Hopkins, and Krishnakumar (2014) showed that social competence curbs aggression in response to provocation. Wichman (2010) conducted a pilot study and additional research to assess a similar proposition. Hogg, M. A. Their identity seems more certain. Derivation and explanation of the model recruits literatures on social identity, self-categorization, uncertainty, social comparison processes, self-motives, self-esteem, uncertainty related motives. These conditions ensured the level of exclusion varied. McGregor, I., Zanna, M. P., Holmes, J. G., & Spencer, S. J. … In other teams, this constraint was relaxed. ), Progress in communication sciences (vol. They were told that other people tend to enjoy this task. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 311-328. Furthermore, they dedicated more time to this persuasive message. A motivational extension of social identity theory is proposed: the uncertainty reduction hypothesis. Weary, G., & Edwards, J. A. (2001). These organizations tend to reject most features of mainstream culture. networks. 78-100). 401-418). A sense of personal uncertainty also increases conformity. One of these theories in particular, subjective uncertainty reduction theory, was considered by Brewer (1991, 2003) when developing her theory of optimal distinctiveness. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 1559-1562. If it can be surveyed or the deeds are unambiguous is irrelevant. Crossref Michael A. Hogg , Social Identity and Social Comparison , Handbook of Social Comparison , 10.1007/978-1-4615-4237-7_19 , (401-421) , (2000) . If limited control was elicited, participants greatly valued the norms and standards of their nation, presumably to instill a sense of order. That is, they expressed opinions that diverge from other people. That is, individuals can identify themselves with an influential group or person. In this study, some participants were instructed to discuss a time in which they feel vulnerable to disease. This paper compares 3 theories examining the role of communication in producing and coping with subjective uncertainty. Finally, they expressed their attitudes to behaviors that contradict norms. New York: Academic Press. * 8 Axioms * Origin URT was created and developed by C.R. (2007). Again, this pattern of findings was observed only in people who showed a low implicit self-esteem. Berger, C. R., & Calabrese, R. J. Psychological Science, 20, 385-392. Laurin, K., Kay, A., & Moscovitch, D. (2008). (2007). Some direct tests of the uncertainty reduction hypothesis are described. In particular, this study showed that limited control increased the likelihood that people would value a Smartphone that, supposedly, confers a sense of order by enabling them to direct their own life. Uncertainty declines. In particular, according to this concept, when people feel threatened, they attempt to adopt abstract goals and pursue ideas, such as ideological positions. Participants exposed to divergent opinions from individuals in their own group subsequently showed more conformity. As predicted, exclusion was positively associated with uncertainty. In other conditions, they could retain the tokens they exchanged. In particular, they wrote more words to convince this person. (2003). Near each painting were, ostensibly, the ratings of other people. 122-144). 203-229). First, because of these discrepancies in power, the powerful party might not always act fairly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 931-941. van den Bos, K., & Miedema, J. Uncertainty reduction theory attempts to predict and explain rational development between two strangers. Sherif, M., & Harvey, O. J. In R. Sorrentino, & E. T. Higgins (Eds. In teams, workgroups, and other social networks, people often exchange resources with one another, like information, goods, and support (see social exchange theory). Sociometry, 15, 272-305. To override these feelings, individuals attempt to shift their attention to matters in which they feel more certain. 3. Next, participants completed a variety of tasks, all designed to assess conformity. Therefore, primes that provoke uncertainty or disorder, and thus evoke the need to seek order, bias attitudes towards stage theories. After uncertainty was invoked, individuals were more inclined to convince someone else, but only if this person was depicted as open. 21-66). Abstract. When what you have is who you are: Self-uncertainty leads individualists to see themselves in their possessions. Then, participants answer a series of questions, intended to prompt deliberation about the benefits and drawbacks of each alternative response to this dilemma. To assess social competence, Robinson, Fetterman, Hopkins, and Krishnakumar (2014) developed a specific procedure. An enquiry concerning the principles of cultural norms and values: The impact of uncertainty and mortality salience on reactions to violations and bolstering of cultural worldviews. The psychology of social norms. Contextually generated subjective uncertainty about important, usually self-conceptually relevant, matters motivates uncertainty reduction. Resource variation and the development of cohesion in . 11, pp. New York: Guilford Press. Presumably, the uncertainty fosters acceptance of group norms and beliefs-and thus resistance to information that contradicts these opinions or attitudes. Learning is uncertainty reduction, conceptualized differently across paradigms as a logical result of their contrasting notions of uncertainty. In addition, their prejudices against other teams or groups also diminish (Grieve & Hogg, 1999). They were permitted to exchange the token with only a subset of these five participants. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. European Review of Social Psychology, 11, 223 - 255 . Presumably, when implicit self-esteem is low, people are particularly sensitive to threats and more inclined to reinforce their certainty in response to feelings of uncertainty. Building on social identity theory and self-categorization theory, a subjective uncertainty reduction model of motivation associated with social identity process and group and intergroup behavior is developed and described. McGregor, I., & Marigold, D. C. (2003). Attributions and cognitive orientations: Uncertainty orientation. Managers sometimes conceptualize their employees as tools to reach their goals not as people with their own passions, skills, and needs. McGarty, C., Turner, J. C., Oakes, P. J., & Haslam, S. A. In the second study, participants wrote about three facets of themselves that evoke feelings of uncertainty or certainty--to evoke a sense of self-uncertainty or self-certainty respectively. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 524-541. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 839-848. A blend of uncertainty and anxiety tends to provoke ideological conviction. Hogg and Mullin (1999) argued that subjective uncertainty is primarily a function of the context, not the individual. Any event or experience that could protect their identity should thus curb the effect of uncertainty. Such states, for example, could derive from decline in the economy, insecurity in relationships, limited clarity about the self, uncertainty about social interactions, and so forth (see Smith, Hogg, & Martin, & Terry, 2007). This state of uncertainty may not diminish and may distract attention from conversations, compromising their social interactions. Personality differences in reactions to uncertainty in the minimal group paradigm. Berger and Calabrese in 1975. Exchanges, therefore, are not always successful, trust does not evolve, and uncertainty is experienced. Weary, G., Vaughn, L. A., Steward, B. D., & Edwards, J. In a series of studies conducted by Abrams, Wetherell, Cochrane, Hogg, and Turner (1990), for example, participants were exposed to opinions that diverged from their own-expressed either by individuals purportedly in their group or by individuals in another group. If self-uncertainty, rather than general-uncertainty, had been evoked, participants were not as likely to admit they enjoy this task. Social competence, as defined by Robinson, Fetterman, Hopkins, and Krishnakumar (2014), refers to the capacity to know which behaviors are suitable and which behaviors are unsuitable in social contexts. 2. Consistent with this argument, Hogg, Adelman, and Blagg (2010) cite many studies that attest to the effect of uncertainty on the receptivity to religion. Subjective uncertainty Uncertainty about who we are and what we are supposed to do, which is alleviated by identification with groups. Uncertainty and extremism: Identification with high entitativity groups under conditions of uncertainty. Uncertainty reduction occurs primarily by questioning new acquaintances in an attempt to gather information about them. In addition, to assess uncertainty, participants were asked to specify the extent to which they felt their interactions were uncertain, unpredictable, or stable. Next, participants were asked whether some of their significant possessions, such as their favorite jeans, either express their personality or were purchased because of their utility and convenience. Paradoxical influences of doubt on proselytizing. Berger, C. R., & Gudykunst, W. B. Because members can reject mainstream standards, their sense of certainty increases. Although some minor surprises can be satisfying and pleasurable, scholars have long recognized that uncertainty about key facets of our life is aversive (e.g., Festinger, 1954), partly because such a state undermines our capacity to predict the future and act appropriately as a means to fulfill desired outcomes. When individuals experience a sense of self uncertainty, they may be more likely to purchase products that can reinforce or express their identity rather than goods that offer some tangible purpose. A motivational extension of social identity theory is proposed: the uncertainty reduction hypothesis. Herriot (2007), for example, maintained that fundamentalism represents an attempt to curb the uncertainty that emanates from modernity--from the flux and instability of modern times. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 5, 92-101. If uncertainty was elicited, participants greatly valued the heritage of their nation. To illustrate, in one study, conducted by Shepherd, Kay, Landau, and Keefer (2011), some participants were asked to reflect upon a time in which some events that unfolded were beyond their control, to highlight limited control. Losing one's cool: Social competence as a novel inverse predictor of provocation-related aggression. In one study, to evoke a sense of uncertainty about women, some male participants wrote about a time in which they felt attracted to a woman but were unsure of how to approach her. Individuals are especially likely to experience a sense of clarity and certainty when they identify with these collectives. European Americans, in contrast, were more likely to feel bothered or uneasy after writing an essay that provokes uncertainty about themselves, such as a time they failed a task in which they expected to succeed. First, either achievement or relationship motives were primed. Next, they receive a series of options on how the protagonists should respond in these circumstances, such as discuss mutual values. Reduced reactivity of this region tends to imply that individuals are less sensitive to conflicts, diminishing uncertainty. In contrast, if individuals perceive themselves as more independent, they may be more likely to demonstrate this assimilation when uncertain about themselves. Accordingly, they are not as familiar with other individuals, increasing their sense of uncertainty. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 949-958. One of the widely accepted theories regarding the coping skills needed for dealing with uncertainty is the Subjective Uncertainty Reduction Theory. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41, 91-113. Tobin, S. J., & Weary, G. (2008). Thompson, S. C., Sobolew-Shubin, A., Galbraith, M. E., Schwankovsky, L., & Cruzen, D. (1993). Landau, Sullivan, Keefer, Rothschild, and Osman (2012) conducted a series of studies that validate this supposition. Finally, the time they devoted to write a persuasive message was also assessed. This manipulation is similar to the procedure applied by Hogg, Sherman, Dierselhuis, Maitner, and Moffitt (2007), who instructed participants to identify three facets about their life or future that provokes uncertainty or certainty. Self affirmation is often assumed to protect the self and, thus, should fulfill this function (McGregor, Zanna, Holmes, & Spencer, 2001& for conflicting findings, see Hogg & Svensson, cited in Hogg, 2007). Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 639-651. doi: 10.1177/0146167211403158, Morrison, K. R., Johnson, C. S., & Wheeler, S. C. (2012). (1991). To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our Cookie Policy. ), European review of social psychology (Vol. Identity crises: A social critique of postmodernity. Morrison and Johnson (2011) conducted a series of studies that verify this possibility. In V. Yzerbyt, C. M. Judd, & O. Corneille (Eds. American Sociological Review, 74, 551-572. For example, your friend, Sam, invites you to join her and her co-workers for dinner. A typical item is "When I see something good happen to others, I often do not know why it happened". They also reported more uncertainty about their partner as well as the attitudes of this partner towards them. ), Language and social psychology (pp. Uncertainty can make people avoid a situation or behavior (aversive state) and cause cognitive stress. Herriot, P. (2007). Uncertainty reduction theory. Advocating these beliefs, or proselytizing, might fulfill this objective. First, in a pilot study, participants were asked to write an essay on three characteristics or events that increase the likelihood they feel either certain or uncertain about their group or themselves. A. Journal of Communication, v51 n3 p456-76 Sep 2001 Compares three theories examining the role of communication in producing and coping with subjective uncertainty. When they feel connected to this group, they adopt these norms or beliefs, imparting a sense of certainty. Shah, J. Y., Kruglanski, A. W., & Thompson, E. P. (1998). Accordingly, these organizations seem immutable. This study explored whether diversity in the roles and expertise of the senior managers affects financial performance, as defined by return on assets divided by assets. Uncertainty management: The influence of uncertainty salience on reactions to perceived procedural fairness. Webster, D. M., Kruglanski, A. W., & Pattison, D. A. In J. Greenberg, S. L. Koole, & T. Pyszczynski (Eds. In S. R. Thye & E. J. Lawler (Eds. First, some studies have varied the extent to which participants are granted opportunities to practice a task. By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Other theories or models do not assume that individuals progress from stage to another stage in a fixed order& people can either progress in different orders or they may develop along a continuum. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51, 629-636. This information can then be used to predict people’s behavior, or the outcome of starting a relationship with them. In M. P. Zanna (Ed. Toward an understanding of why fairness matters: The influence of mortality salience on reactions to procedural fairness. Furthermore, Hodson, and Sorrentino (2001) developed a procedure that assesses whether or not individuals are orientated towards reducing certainty. Next, participants answered questions that assess the extent to which they identify with their nation, Canada. Consistent with these possibilities, Boucher and Jacobson (2012) showed that causal uncertainty is associated with aversive experiences during conversations. Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. S. (1987). Interestingly, diversity was positively related to firm performance, but only if the managers were located in the same building and uncertainty pervaded the environment, as represented by variability in sales across consecutive years. In particular, when individuals felt uncertain about some task, they became increasingly likely to comply with the norms and behaviors of the group, presumably as a means to diminish this uncertainty. Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab. These reflections, perhaps, reinforced the identity of individuals& uncertainty, thus, was not perceived as threatening. The process of information seeking goes through predictable developme… Therefore, to prevent this uncertainty, they may withdraw from social contexts altogether. From uncertainty reduction theory (Hogg, 2000), it was hypothesized that people would identify most strongly with their group if they felt self-conceptually uncertain and the group was highly entitative. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 1024-1037. The excluded person tends to offer greater concessions to redress this imbalance in power. Finally, they were asked to write a message that was designed to persuade someone else to adopt their attitudes. ), Handbook of motivation and cognition: The interpersonal context, vol. Finally, participants expressed their political attitudes. Uncertainty, entitativity and group identification. Stotland, E., & Blumenthal, A. L. (1964). First, according to Hogg, Adelman, and Blagg (2010), religious organizations exhibit a property called entitativity. Specifically, individuals sometimes experience a sense of uncertainty about their identity: They are not sure of their interests, skills, personality, or ideologies, for example. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 1291-1301. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 135-142. 9, pp. Finally, after a 10 minute delay, participants rated their emotions. People feel uncertain in initial interpersonal communication. If uncertainty about women had been provoked, men were more likely to feel that sexual attraction is the most important quality of women. The illusion of control. Festinger, L. (1954). Uncertainty-identity theory. McGregor (2003) reviewed the evidence, showing that such personal uncertainty promotes bias against other groups and conviction of opinions (see also Smith, Hogg, Martin, & Terry, 2007). van den Bos, K. (2001). In some instances, for example, one person can derive a particular resource from two other individuals. This defensive response enables them to derogate, or even harm, members of this group (e.g., Leyens et al., 2000). Weary, G., Jacobson, J. Boucher, E. M., & Jacobson, J. When individuals experience a sense of control or autonomy, wellbeing and affective states improve (e.g., Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978& Stotland & Blumenthal, 1964& Thompson, Sobolew-Shubin, Galbraith, Schwankovsky, & Cruzen, 1993) as does performance (Glass & Singer, 1972). 2 anxiety during initial interactions because they are unable to predict or control how the relationship will progress. McGregor, I. Schaefer (2009) undertook a study to investigate these possibilities as well as several other hypotheses. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 339-375. Again, only people with an individualistic perspective demonstrated this effect of self expressive possessions. A. Specifically, in one study, to elicit uncertainty, nursing students described a time in which they were not certain how they should treat a patient. Self affirmation has been shown to curb the effect of uncertainty (Wichman, 2010). Psychological Science, 21, 1701-1707. (2011). That is, individuals gradually learn the norms and beliefs that characterize this group. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske & G. Lindzey (Eds. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. In some teams, if participants received a token from one person, they could not then distribute that resource to anyone else. A., & Grove, J. R. (2006). According to some scholars, in many cultures, men are encouraged to conceptualize women as objects that fulfill their own needs, such as status or sexual pleasure (Bartky, 1990). Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1987). (1999). Canadian Journal of Psychology, 18, 139-145. In R. M. Arkin, K. C. Oleson, & P. J. Carroll (Eds. Identification with sport teams as a function of the search for certainty. Threat and defense as goal regulation: From implicit goal-conflict to anxious uncertainty, reactive approach motivation (RAM), and ideological extremism. However, if they did not perceive the beliefs as especially important, this effect of uncertainty on proselytizing diminished (Gal & Rucker, 2010). The second study was similar.

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