Katie Corbin and Haley Sudduth

Uncertainty Reduction Theory

Charles Berger

1.    

Overview

Uncertainty reduction

theory…

f o c u s e s o n h o w h u m a n communication is used to gain knowledge and create understanding.

• “The beginnings of personal relationships

are fraught with uncertainties.”- Berger

2.    

Reasons why we

want to reduce

uncertainty

1. Anticipation of future interaction

we know we will see them again

2. Incentive value they have something we want

3. Deviance: they act in a weird or odd way  

4. We have a natural curiosity when meeting someone new.

5. To “make sense” of our interpersonal world

3.    

UCR: to predict

and explain

Predictability is the opposite of uncertainty

As predictability increases, uncertainty decreases,

and vice versa.

Predictability and uncertainty have an inversely proportional relationship.

Attribution theory explains how people draw inferences about the character of others based

on observed behavior.

We constantly draw inferences about why people do what they do. As humans, we need to predict AND explain their behavior.

Two kinds of uncertainty

Behavioral

and

Cognitive (the one URT focuses on)

Uncertainty reduction: more knowledge of the kind of person someone is will help you predict how future interactions

with them will turn out

4.    

An Axiomatic Theory:

Certainty about

Uncertainty

8 key variables of

relationship development:

verbal communication,

nonverbal warmth,

information seeking,

self-disclosure,

reciprocity,

similarity,

liking,

& shared networks

a self-evident truth t h a t r e q u i r e s n o additional proof

Axiom:

Axiom 1: Verbal Communication

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH7NSVqbluk(stop at 1:09)

As verbal communication between strangers increases, uncertainty for each will decrease.

As uncertainty is reduced, verbal communication will increase.

Axiom 2: Nonverbal Warmth

As nonverbal warmth (expressiveness) increases, uncertainty levels will decrease in an initial interaction.

Decreases in uncertainty level will cause increase in nonverbal expressiveness.

Axiom 3: Information Seeking

High levels of uncertainty cause increases in information-seeking behavior.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOoHh7wHtvQ (0:34-2:06)

A s u n c e r t a i n t y d e c r e a s e s , information-seeking behavior decreases.

Axiom 4: Self- Disclosure

High levels of uncertainty in a relationship cause decreases in the intimacy level of communication content.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA16qR2tx6A

Low levels of uncertainty

produce high levels of intimacy.

Axiom 5: Reciprocity

High levels of uncertainty produce high rates of reciprocity.

Low levels of uncertainty produce low levels of reciprocity.

Axiom 6: Similarity

Similarities between individuals reduce uncertainty, while dissimilarities produce increases in uncertainty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsbQrS6yC4A

Axiom 7:Liking

Increases in uncertainty level produce decreases in liking.

decreases in uncertainty produce increases in liking.

Axiom 8: Shared Networks

Shared communication networks reduce uncertainty, while lack of shared networks increases uncertainty.

Relationships in relative isolation tend to have higher levels of uncertainty.

5.    

Theorems: The Logical

Face of Uncertainty

Axioms

Theorem: a proposition that logically and necessarily follows from

two axioms.

28 theorems that give you the big picture of interpersonal development.

The intersection shows: the number of Berger’s theorem and the correlation between the two variables.

A plus sign (+) shows that the two variables rise or fall together.

A minus sign (-) indicates that as one increases, the other decreases.

6.    

Message Plans to Cope

with Uncertain

Responses

(Focuses on The thought processes people go through in order to produce the messages they speak)

Most social interaction is goal-driven.

Message plans: mental representations of action sequences that may be used to achieve goals

“How do individuals cope with the inevitable uncertainties they must face when constructing messages?

class activity

4 Situations:

1. parent/child

2. boyfriend/girlfriend

3. online dating

4. roommate

Strategy 1: Seeking

Information

three approaches we can use to find out how others might react to our messages…

Passive strategy: form impressions by watching how a person interacts with others.

Active strategy: form impressions by asking a third party about a person

Interactive strategy: impression formation through face-to-face discussion with a person; quickest route to reducing uncertainty

Strategy 2: Choosing plan

complexity

Plan complexity: the level of detail the plan includes and the number of back-up plans prepared in case the original one doesn’t work

Strategy 3: Hedging

The use of strategic vagueness and humor to provide a way for both parties to save face when a message fails to achieve its goal

Strategy 4: Hierarchy Hypothesis

The prediction that when people are dissatisfied in their attempts to achieve goals, their first tendency is to alter lower-level elements of their message

7.    

Anxiety/Uncertainty

Management

(AUM) Theory

AUM theory says that h i g h l e v e l s o f uncertainty and anxiety l e a d t o g r e a t e r misunderstanding when s t r a n g e r s d o n ’ t communicate mindfully

AUM theory Differs in 5 significant

ways from Berger’s URT

• Anxiety: the feeling of being uneasy, tense, worried or apprehensive about what might happen • Effective communication

» End goal of AUM theory is effective communication rather than closeness or relational satisfaction » Effective communication is the extent to which a person interpreting a messages does so in a way that’s relatively similar to what was intended; minimizes misunderstanding.

• Multiple causes of anxiety/uncertainty • Lower and upper thresholds for fear and doubt

» There’s a balance for fear and doubt, and in that balance is where we actually communicate

• Mindfulness » According to AUM, the process of thinking in new categories, being open to new information, and recognizing multiple perspectives

8.    

Critique: Nagging Doubts

about Uncertainty

Positives

The linkages between the theorems is seen as a blueprint for building solid relationships

NEGATIVES •  Reliance on the concept of uncertainty and the assumption that we are all motivated to reduce it

•  Glitch in theorem 17 –  involves axioms 3 and 7 –  Axiom 3 is the problem

•  Disagree with Berger’s claim that uncertainty reduction is the key to understanding early encounters –  Sunnafrank insists that the early course of a relationship is guided by its predicted outcome value (POV). The primary goal of our initial interaction with another is maximizing our relational outcomes rather than finding out who he or she is.

–  Predicted outcome value: a forecast of future benefits and costs of interaction based on limited experience with the other.

Additional Research

The Facebook phenomenon: online self-disclosure and uncertainty reduction

First Comes Love, Then Comes Google

More self-disclosure on one’s FB page leads to less perceived uncertainty about the individual

Photo links

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