The Relationship Between Uncertainty and Affect

Abstract

Uncertainty and affect are fundamental and interrelated aspects of the human condition. Uncertainty is often associated with negative affect, but in some circumstances, it is associated with positive affect. In this article, we review different explanations for the varying relationship between uncertainty and affect. We identify “mental simulation” as a key process that links uncertainty to affective states. We suggest that people have a propensity to simulate negative outcomes, which result in a propensity toward negative affective responses to uncertainty. We also propose the existence of several important moderators of this process, including context and individual differences such as uncertainty tolerance, as well as emotion regulation strategies. Finally, we highlight important knowledge gaps and promising areas for future research, both empirical and conceptual, to further elucidate the relationship between uncertainty and affect.

“Stopping for knowledge”: The sense of beauty in the perception-action cycle

“…We interpreted this evidence proposing that more attentional resources were oriented on the pleasant sensory features of musical intervals rather than on the motor response. In accordance with neurophysiological evidence collected in humans and in rodents, it has been suggested that our nervous system is equipped with a "Behavioural Inhibition System", activated by novel, unexpected events and actively hindering behavioural responses, thus allowing the individual to re-plan an adequate motor response (Anderson et al, 2019). In other words, we suggest that the ultimate product of aesthetic experience may not be an approach reaction, but a simple enhancement of the perceptual activity per se (Kirsch, Urgesi & Cross, 2016).…”

An integer programming model to assign patients based on mental health impact for tele-psychotherapy intervention during the Covid–19 emergency

“…Also, volunteers had an uncertain assignation of workload per day, generating high levels of tension. This agrees with Carleton [11], Anderson et al [2], Lake and LaBar [29], as these kinds of assignments could lead to anxiety depending on the uncertainty of the weekly number of patients and their needs.…”

Media Exposure to COVID-19 Information, Risk Perception, Social and Geographical Proximity, and Self-Rated Anxiety in China

“…Interestingly, information about the number of reported cases of COVID-19 and the analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic were negatively associated with anxiety. We reasoned that knowing the number of reported cases and deaths could actually lower the uncertainty level of the public because uncertainty often arises with lack of information and "uncertainty is experienced subjectively as anxiety" [15]. Compared to not knowing the real situation of the pandemic, people are likely to feel less anxious when they get to know more information about the seriousness of the pandemic through media.…”