Interpreting Causal Uncertainty

Interpreting Causal Uncertainty with Individual’s Initial Interactions Many studies have been conducted to examine why people feel the way they do towards events or situations they perceive as not their stereotypical “norm” or feeling uncertain as to why someone did what they did. In a study by Gifford Weary and John A. Edwards (1994), they define this uncertainty about one’s inability to comprehend or identify causal relationships or causal conditions in society as causal uncertainty (CU). Whether you are trying to make sense of why your best friend does not want to go out to the movies or why a stranger started talking to you in an elevator, people have this overwhelming urge to understand or reason the cause of another person’s behavior, so that their reaction is fitting (Weary, Tobin, & Edwards, 2010). The research has show that because of the universality of traumatic events in the world, such as natural disasters, school shootings, deaths, murder, and so on, it is plausible that many individuals feel that they are not capable of adequately determining the causes behind the occurrence of such social events (Weary & Edwards, 1994). They found that individual differences can be assessed by the causal uncertainty scale (CUS); the CUS measures the person’s response to beliefs (Weary & Edwards, 1994). The need to understand cause-and-effect relationships within the context of society is likely to influence the behavior of some individuals (Weary & Edwards, 1994). The inability to understand people’s reactions or inaction or causal uncertainty symptoms can materialize into the feelings of disorientation, discomfort, or turmoil (Weary et al., 2010). It is believed that there are certain conditions that must exist in order for a person to suffer from CU, in that there must be some uncertain feelings present whether they were caused by the surroundings, expected outcomes that were not met, or self-perception (sensitivity) (Weary et al., 2010). More recently

References: Douglas, W. (1991). Expectations about initial interaction: An examination of the effects of global uncertainty. Human Communication Research, 17(3), 355-384. Edwards, J.A. & Weary, Gifford. (1998). Antecedents of ausal uncertainty and perceived control: a prospective study. European Journal of Personality, 12, 135-148. Tobin, S.J., Weary, G., Brunner, R.P., Gonzalez, J., & Han, H.A. (2009). Causal uncertainty and stereotype avoidance: The role of perceived category fit. Social Cognition, 27(6), 917-928. Weary, G., & Edwards, J.A. (1994). Individual differences in causal uncertainty. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(2), 308-318. Weary, G., Tobin, S.J., & Edwards, J.A. (2010). The causal uncertainty model revisited. In R.M. Arkin, K.C. Oleson, & P.J. Carroll (Eds.), Handbook of the uncertain self (pp. 78-100). New York, NY: Psychology Press.