Uncertainty reduction theory articles. What Is The Uncertainty Reduction Theory? Uncertainty Reduction Theory In A Nutshell 2022-10-12

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Uncertainty reduction theory, also known as information seeking theory, is a communication theory that explains how individuals attempt to reduce uncertainty in social situations. It was first proposed by Charles Berger and Richard Calabrese in 1975 and has since been widely studied in the fields of communication and psychology.

According to uncertainty reduction theory, individuals have a natural drive to reduce uncertainty in social situations. This drive is motivated by the desire to predict and control the outcomes of social interactions. In order to reduce uncertainty, individuals engage in various communication behaviors, such as asking questions, seeking information, and engaging in small talk.

One key concept in uncertainty reduction theory is initial uncertainty, which refers to the level of uncertainty that individuals experience when they first encounter a new person or situation. Initial uncertainty can be high in situations where there is a lack of information about the other person, such as when meeting someone for the first time. Initial uncertainty can also be high in situations where there is a lack of common ground, such as when interacting with someone from a different cultural background.

To reduce initial uncertainty, individuals may engage in various communication behaviors, such as asking questions, seeking information, and engaging in small talk. These behaviors serve to gather information about the other person and the situation, which helps individuals to better understand and predict the outcomes of social interactions.

Uncertainty reduction theory also proposes that there are four stages of uncertainty reduction: pre-encounter, encounter, experimentation, and resolution. During the pre-encounter stage, individuals gather information about the other person and the situation in order to reduce initial uncertainty. This may involve seeking out information about the other person through social media or asking mutual acquaintances for information.

During the encounter stage, individuals interact face-to-face with the other person and engage in communication behaviors designed to reduce uncertainty. This may involve asking questions, engaging in small talk, or seeking information about the other person's interests and beliefs.

During the experimentation stage, individuals test out different communication behaviors in order to gauge the other person's reactions and gather more information about them. This may involve trying out different topics of conversation or engaging in different types of activities.

Finally, during the resolution stage, individuals have reduced their uncertainty to a satisfactory level and can better predict and control the outcomes of social interactions.

Uncertainty reduction theory has been widely studied and has been found to have important implications for a variety of social situations, including communication in romantic relationships, friendships, and business interactions. It is a valuable tool for understanding how individuals seek to reduce uncertainty in social situations and how communication behaviors can impact the success of social interactions.

Full article: Handling Compounded Uncertainty in Spatial Planning and Humanitarian Action in Unexpected Floods in Wayanad, Kerala: Towards a Contextualised Contingency Planning Approach

uncertainty reduction theory articles

Those initiatives were supported by local communities on a voluntary basis. The new humanitarian basics. Such an approach could be further strengthened in Wayanad by incorporating the element of chance and stimulating improvised ways of interorganisational working among actors to address the challenges generated by ambiguity in action. Criticisms of Uncertainty Reduction Theory Some researchers argue that uncertainty reduction is not always the motivating factor for communication. Berger and Richard J. Bridging Operational Logics of Spatial Planning and Humanitarian Response by Explicating Ambiguity in Action: Steps towards a Contextualised Contingency Planning Approach The case of unexpected floods in Wayanad supports a relational understanding of ontic uncertainty, epistemic uncertainty, and ambiguity that can enhance crisis response during unexpected environmental crises Brugnach et al.

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What Is The Uncertainty Reduction Theory? Uncertainty Reduction Theory In A Nutshell

uncertainty reduction theory articles

The science of muddling through. The floods briefly united the fragmented governmental departments and multiple actors through various informal and heuristic decision-making processes related to emergency measures that bypassed existing bureaucratic procedures. Her research focuses on spatial and processual informality, multi stakeholder processes for co-creation and governance and the impact of globalisation on cities in the Global South. The overall proposition that uncertainty reduction leads to positive communication outcomes is once again supported by this study Neulip, Grohskopf, 2000, p74. She is also interested in approaches that integrate socio-spatial justice and urban transitions in various contexts in the North and the South. The goal of AUM was to define how humans are able to effectively communicate with one another in social situations by balancing their feelings of uncertainty and anxiety.

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Uncertainty Reduction Theory

uncertainty reduction theory articles

If you were born in the United States, but your family immigrated here from Japan, you could feel two connections under this level of communication: one to the nation of birth and one to the nation of your family heritage. They also suggested that the main way people reduce uncertainty during the initial interaction is via verbal and nonverbal communication strategies. Addressing urban crises: Bridging the humanitarian—development divide. Defining uncertainty: A conceptual basis for uncertainty management in model-based decision support. In the absence of strong institutional planning mechanisms, community resourcefulness, decentralised governance and localised capacity in Wayanad contributed to contextualised contingency planning based on ad hoc, informal, spontaneous, and heuristic decisions Choularton, 7 As pointed out by Knox Clarke and Campbell provide a basis for relational understandings of epistemic uncertainty, ontic uncertainty, and ambiguity as a way of improving responses to future unexpected events. Some of the results that were presented in the article provided support or portions of URT, and some others did not. Activities included relief camp management, collection of food supplies, distribution of relief kits, cleaning of schools and contaminated wells, assessing the extent of the damage, repair of affected houses, and counselling for post-disaster trauma.

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What is uncertainty reduction theory? Explained by FAQ Blog

uncertainty reduction theory articles

These are useful lessons for spatial planning to deal with uncertainty. Long-term rebuilding and rehabilitation is considered the responsibility of local governments. In general, the URT is heuristic. The results of this study incorporated URT into the understanding of communication via email. Our team has collected thousands of questions that people keep asking in forums, blogs and in Google questions. The most important finding in this study demonstrates that in initial interaction situations, uncertainty and communication satisfaction are linearly related.

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Understanding the Idea of Uncertainty Reduction Theory by Charles Berger: [Essay Example], 2093 words GradesFixer

uncertainty reduction theory articles

Toward a relational concept of uncertainty: About knowing too little, knowing too differently, and accepting not to know. Without civil society, everything would have collapsed. The authors explore these facets through a case study of uncertainty, that of unexpected monsoon floods in 2018 and 2019 in Wayanad, a peri-urban hill district in Kerala, India. Interviewees who were members of the DPC acknowledged that the perception of Wayanad as a lesser developed district than other districts in Kerala had led to a prolonged shortage of competent personnel. Uncertainty cannot be eliminated by any estimation methods. Berger mentions three strategies we can use to reduce uncertainty; the passive strategy, which is to simply observe the other person, the active strategy is when a third party is asked for information and the interactive strategy, which is face-to-face self disclosure Garard, 2001.

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Uncertainty Reduction Theory

uncertainty reduction theory articles

Humanitarian Practice Network HPN , Overseas Development Institute. Anxiety Uncertainty Management theory, often referred to as AUM, was initially introduced by William Gudykunst. Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. Introduction: Strategic spatial planning in uncertainty: Theory and exploratory practice. The theory suggests that human beings are uncomfortable with uncertainty and seek the means to predict the trajectory of social interactions.


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Western CEDAR

uncertainty reduction theory articles

. One humanity: Shared responsibility. As the article aims to address current gaps in literature on uncertainty, we conducted a literature review of English publications on uncertainty in 22 journals, spanning planning spatial, strategic, adaptation, environmental, regional , humanitarian studies, geography, risk research, decision-making, and climate adaptation, as well as seminal work addressing uncertainty in other relevant domains such as business and management. Are you dressed up enough to hang out with her? What does high uncertainty produce? Planning Theory, 2 1 , 37— 59. As a result, multiple sectoral plans are created, containing varying mandates. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 42 3 , 510— 525.


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(PDF) Understanding Uncertainty Reduction Theory

uncertainty reduction theory articles

By engaging with Deb directly, you can relieve your uncertainty and be ready to hang out with her again in the future. Using the theory, individuals collect information about themselves, their relationships, and other people to reduce uncertainty or increase predictability. Information is then exchanged regarding age, social status, economic status, or other demographical factors mainly influenced by culture. Printed from Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Communication. This would strengthen the adaptive capacity of long-term planning Balducci et al. Human Communication: A Critical Reader Third Edition.

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[PDF] Uncertainty Reduction Theory

uncertainty reduction theory articles

Even though national NGOs, UNDP and UNICEF actors were present, the Kerala disaster management protocol obliged them to collaborate with local actors who could better contextualise the situation. Of the 58 interviewees, 30 were decision-makers from the line departments of the administration involved in disaster management and response, and in long-term planning. There are also subplans, such as tribal subplans to accommodate the needs of the marginalised tribal communities, and at the village level there are physical development plans and both 5-year and annual plans prepared by the LSGIs. Many online communications are interpersonal, such as what occurs through social networking. However, whether such a development could be sustained by policy and organisational changes that address systemic issues and provide long-term transformation and meta-learning for future unexpected events remains to be seen. Accordingly, our intention is less about assessing the lessons learned from Wayanad and more about analysing what happened in Wayanad as a case study of uncertainty to facilitate a discussion of how spatial planning could address uncertainty during an emergency situation. Relational dialectics is an interpersonal communication theory about close personal ties and relationships that highlights the tensions, struggles and interplay between contrary tendencies.

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Uncertainty Management Theories

uncertainty reduction theory articles

Journal of the American Planning Association, 77 3 , 251— 266. For instance, you could ask Deb some questions about the car she has for sale or some of her hobbies. Article 1, Interrogative strategies and information exchange in computer-mediated communication, reports on a content analysis of interrogative strategies used in E-mail messages exchanged over six months between intergenerational sets of senior citizens and youngsters. Quarrying and agriculture in Wayanad are regulated by policies for real estate development and conservation of paddy fields. It proposes that people can reduce uncertainty about others by gaining information about them. However, formulating long-term planning responses to quarrying is challenging due to ambiguity generated by contextual decision-making responses.

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