Uncertain Outcome Values in Predicted Relationships Uncertainty Reduction Theory Then and Now

Berger, Charles R.

doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.1986.tb00093.x

Cited by 136 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The theory has been applied to ongoing interpersonal relationships, social networks, intercultural interactions, health communication, and organizations (Berger, 2011). Berger (1986) (1985) found support for the theory as it applied to college students in three relationships (acquaintances, friends, and dating) and within three cultures (United States, Korea, and Japan). However, some of the axioms and theorems did not fit these contexts.…”

Section: Adding Axiomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…URT provides explanations for these and other behaviors when people interact with someone new. However, the general principles underlying URT apply to most, if not all, human communication (Berger, 1986).Over the years, uncertainty reduction theory has evolved to include interactions within established interpersonal relationships that may also experience stressful periods of uncertainty. Uncertainty is also aroused in our relationships when someone behaves in an unexpected manner-violates our expectation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Uncertainty Reduction Theory

Redmond¹

2016

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Corporate Reputation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Originally: Interaction with strangers; Subsequently: interpersonal relationships Questions It Addresses in Our Every Day Lives:1. Why do we feel anxious when we're interacting with strangers or in new situations?2. How can we manage the uncertainties we experience when our friends act in unexpected ways?3. What kinds of things cause us to feel uncertainty when dealing with other people? Theory at a Glance• Various conditions lead us to experience uncertainty when interacting with other people.• We seek to reduce uncertainty to enhance our abilities to predict and explain the people with whom we interact.• By collecting information about our self, our relationships, and other people, we reduce uncertainty (increase predictability) Visualization of Uncertainty Reduction TheoryThe acquisition, processing, retention, and retrieval of information is vital to the growth, maintenance, and decline of personal and social relationships. Relationships can be viewed as systems of information exchange that must reduce uncertainty in order to survive (p.255). Charles R. Berger (1988). UncertaintyInformation Seeking Uncertainty Reduction 2Have you ever taken a class where the instructor provided little information about the course or basis for grades? Were you ever invited by a friend to a social gathering where you didn't know anyone aside from the friend who invited you? How did you feel in those situations? The lack of clear criteria for a course grade creates uncertainty-you don't know what is expected of you.Not knowing anyone else at the social event means you don't know what to expect from the other people or how they'll react to you. In both situations, you are unable to predict what will happen, and this limits your ability to plan and adapt. Your uneasiness might prompt you to ask your instructor or friend for more information and as you learn more, your uncertainty and anxiety decrease. These two situations reflect the underlying focus of uncertainty reduction theory.Uncertainty reduction theory (URT) was originally created to explain the communication process that occurs when two strangers interact. Charles Berger and Richard Calabrese (1975) observed that when we interact with strangers, we experience uncertainty because we don't really know what to expect. Berger and Calabrese claim that as the interaction proceeds we gain information that quickly reduces our uncertainties. However, there have probably been times where you didn't really worry about finding out anything about the stranger because you never expected to see the person again or it wasn't someone with whom you wanted to pursue a relationship. URT provides explanations for these and other behaviors when people interact with someone new. However, the general principles underlying URT apply to most, if not all, human communication (Berger, 1986).Over the years, uncertainty reduction theory has evolved to include interactions within established interpersonal relationships that may also experience stressful periods of uncertainty. Uncertainty is also a...

show abstract

Section: Adding Axiomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Uncertainty Reduction Theory

Redmond¹

2016

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Corporate Reputation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Because uncertainties breed discomfort, anybody plagued with them should be galvanized to eliminate them by acquiring pertinent information (Heath & Bryant, 2000). When people are unsure about the other party in the encounter, disturbance in the flow of the interaction is bound to occur and interaction would require a lot of effort (Berger, 1986). Berger and Calabrese's (1975) Uncertainty Reduction Theory postulates that high levels of uncertainty accelerate information-seeking behavior and a decline in uncertainty levels decreases information-seeking behavior.…”

Section: When Uncertainty Triggers a Search: Uncertainty Reduction Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trust and information privacy concerns in electronic government

Beldad¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…When establishing relationships, people usually analyze the costs and benefits of creating a relationship (Berger, 1986). Usually, a relationship starts as a weak tie, especially if it is established with an unknown person.…”

Section: Relationship Establishmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trust inference algorithms for social networks

2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The exponential growth of social networks has made establishing a trusted relationship increasingly important. Recommender systems can play an important role in assessing a user's trustworthiness. Such systems are designed to offer recommendations of trustworthiness when establishing connections among social network members, where the system rates members by inferring their degrees of trust. In this work, we developed a recommender system that provides recommendations about trusted social network members. We compared the time complexity and the accuracy of the following four adapted algorithms and a new proposed algorithm:

show abstract

Uncertain Outcome Values in Predicted Relationships Uncertainty Reduction Theory Then and Now

Cited by 136 publications

References 5 publications

Uncertainty Reduction Theory

Uncertainty Reduction Theory

Trust and information privacy concerns in electronic government

Trust inference algorithms for social networks

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About