Communication and Uncertainty Management

Abstract

The fundamental challenge for refining theories of communication and uncertainty is to abandon the assumption that uncertainty will produce anxiety. To better explain processes of communication and uncertainty management, we must answer questions about (a) the experience and meaning of uncertainty, (b) the role of appraisal and emotion in uncertainty management, and (c) the range of behavioral and psychological responses to uncertainty. This paper outlines and extends a theory of uncertainty management and reviews current theory and research in this area. In addition to the theoretical advances promised by this perspective, the paper describes applications to health communication practice. The drive in disease prevention to reduce uncertainty about the state of health and illness has led to a "culture of chronic illness." Constant surveillance of people's health, combined with improved methods for screening and monitoring, virtually guarantee finding something wrong with every person, creating a society divided into the chronically ill and the worried well (i.e., those waiting to be diagnosed).When making decisions, planning events, and interacting with others, people experience uncertainty. Decision alternatives may appear equally attractive (or equally unattractive) if people lack the information needed to distinguish them. Important event contingencies frequently are probabilistic ("Is it likely to rain if we have the reception outdoors?") and differently valued ("Would it be good or bad if it rained?"; see Babrow, 1992, for a discussion of probability and value in determining human action). The behavior of interactional partners may be unpredictable, perhaps because people communicating with new acquaintances lack information on which to base their judgments or because they witnessed inconsistencies during prior interactions with others. In many such situations, people encounter the complexity that characterizes everyday life.Communication researchers have turned their attention to questions about the forms of uncertainty experienced in different contexts and the varied behavioral Dale E. Brashers is associate professor of speech communication at the University

The Uncertainty Room: Strategies for Managing Uncertainty in a Surgical Waiting Room

“…Research on uncertainty has clearly demonstrated that there are various ways in which it can be managed; at times it is appropriate to increase uncertainty, and at other times it may be appropriate to reduce uncertainty. 8 This case study highlights an everyday scenario where both increasing and reducing uncertainty may be appropriate. In particular, staff roles as either volunteers or technical staff determine the type of information that they can communicate in the surgical waiting room.…”

“…12 One of the ways that volunteers managed family members' uncertainty was distraction. Other reports have described distraction as a way to "manipulate the uncertainty of others" 8 and cited examples in organizations where it is better to point someone toward the favorable or more positive aspects of a situation than to leave them to dwell on the less positive or worrying aspects. 13 Staff perceived that family members do not have the right amount or type of information to manage their uncertainty as they wait for their loved one to come out of surgery, and consequently they have developed strategies to manage the uncertainty associated with waiting.…”

“…4,5 Communication scholars in particular have examined experiences of uncertainty in a variety of health contexts 6,7 and have argued that people often experience uncertainty "when details of situations are ambiguous, complex, and unpredictable" and when "information is unavailable or inconsistent." 8 Managing uncertainty is a complex challenge that research suggests falls to staff who work in the surgical waiting room. 4 This case study aimed to identify challenges in managing uncertainty, if any, that staff noticed in a surgical waiting room.…”

An Uncertain Future: Infertility and Chlamydial Infection

“…Developments in medical technologies have made it increasingly possible to detect disease at progressively earlier stages and provided information about the probability of disease development. Consequently, the amount of uncertainty associated with disease development and progression has increased with a consequent focus on its impact (Brashers 2001;Hedestig, Sandman et al 2003;Howell, Fitch et al 2003). The rational response to this, to which we are expected to aspire is reduction uncertainty (Bradac 2001).…”

“…It is increasingly recognised as a valid response, particularly in relation to chronic illness (Crigger 1996) and in conditions where treatment or cure is not an option. Uncertainty in these situations provides opportunity for hope and optimism (Brashers 2001), a form of resistance to the threat of our created narrative of the self (Rose 2000). Information in this context is a tool to manipulate uncertainty in a desired direction, in the ways in which it is presented and interpreted.…”