The Social Penetration Theory & the Uncertain Reduction Theory Implications on the Sales Process
Uncertainty reduction theory
This theory comes to explain the uncertainty among people who communicate with each other and how different types of communication will help to reduce the uncertainty. As a starting point, the developers of this theory (Charles Berger and Richard Calabrese) stated that uncertainty is an unpleasant feeling, which people prefer to avoid as much as they can. Every person has been confronted with the feeling of uncertainty, rather if it was when arriving to new a destination or more commonly when meeting a new person. In order to reduce the unpleasant feeling, people tend to seek information about the uncertain and by that creating more comfortable feelings, and more predictable relationships in case of communication with other people. “Coping with uncertainty is a central issue in any face-to-face encounter, whether interactants are conscious of this fact or not” (Uncertainty Reduction Theory Then and Now. Charles R. Berger), but when the uncertainty is reducing automatically the feeling of attraction (not only physically) start to emerge.
In the heart of this theory, Berger and Calabrese connected uncertainty with seven concepts that are in the base of communication: verbal output, nonverbal warmth, information seeking, self-disclosure, reciprocity of disclosure, similarity, and liking. On top of that, they stated that communication reduces uncertainty, and motivation to come over the unpleasant feeling of uncertainty will occur in three situations, and in those situations people will be more likely to reduce their uncertainty level:
• There are incentives to one of the sides (What this person can do for me?).
• Expecting future interaction (New unfamiliar roommate).
• Unexpected / unusual behavior from the other side
There is also three basic ways in which people seeking information about another person:
• Passive strategies – observing the other person, without him knowing he being watched.
• Active strategies – usually will
This theory comes to explain the uncertainty among people who communicate with each other and how different types of communication will help to reduce the uncertainty. As a starting point, the developers of this theory (Charles Berger and Richard Calabrese) stated that uncertainty is an unpleasant feeling, which people prefer to avoid as much as they can. Every person has been confronted with the feeling of uncertainty, rather if it was when arriving to new a destination or more commonly when meeting a new person. In order to reduce the unpleasant feeling, people tend to seek information about the uncertain and by that creating more comfortable feelings, and more predictable relationships in case of communication with other people. “Coping with uncertainty is a central issue in any face-to-face encounter, whether interactants are conscious of this fact or not” (Uncertainty Reduction Theory Then and Now. Charles R. Berger), but when the uncertainty is reducing automatically the feeling of attraction (not only physically) start to emerge.
In the heart of this theory, Berger and Calabrese connected uncertainty with seven concepts that are in the base of communication: verbal output, nonverbal warmth, information seeking, self-disclosure, reciprocity of disclosure, similarity, and liking. On top of that, they stated that communication reduces uncertainty, and motivation to come over the unpleasant feeling of uncertainty will occur in three situations, and in those situations people will be more likely to reduce their uncertainty level:
• There are incentives to one of the sides (What this person can do for me?).
• Expecting future interaction (New unfamiliar roommate).
• Unexpected / unusual behavior from the other side
There is also three basic ways in which people seeking information about another person:
• Passive strategies – observing the other person, without him knowing he being watched.
• Active strategies – usually will