Uncertainty\u27s Impact on Perceptions Toward Randomness

The current study examined the effects that perceived uncertainty and success in a financial decision task had on participant’s attitudes toward uncertainty. One hundred and fifty-three participants were randomly assigned to read one of three possible vignettes in which varying levels of uncertainty were depicted (i.e., high uncertainty, low uncertainty, and a control condition in which the degree of uncertainty was not mentioned). Participants were asked to make semi-informed decisions based on these vignettes and were, then, randomly assigned to a success or failure feedback condition in which they were told that they had either performed well or poorly. Afterward, attitudes toward uncertainty were measured with a combination of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12 (IUS-12) and the Economic Locus of Control Scales (ELOC). Analysis revealed non-significant effects of both the varying levels of uncertainty presented in the vignettes and the type of feedback on attitudes toward uncertainty. These results imply that the attitudes a person holds toward uncertainty are robust toward day-to-day chance occurrences and that these attitudes may require immense pressure to change