The allure of unknown outcomes: Exploring the role of uncertainty in the preference for potential

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Volumn 55, Issue , 2014, Pages 210-216

  Kupor, Daniella M ^a   Tormala, Zakary L ^a   Norton, Michael I ^b  

^a STANFORD UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL   (United States)

Author keywords

Achievement; Persuasion; Potential; Social influence; Uncertainty

Indexed keywords

EID: 84905408476     PISSN: 00221031     EISSN: 10960465     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2014.07.004     Document Type: Article

References (39)

1. Bar-Anan Y., Wilson T.D., Gilbert D.T. The feeling of uncertainty intensifies affective reactions. Emotion 2009, 9:123-127.
2. Barden J., Tormala Z.L. Elaboration and attitude strength: The new meta-cognitive perspective. Social and Personality Psychology Compass 2014, 8:17-29.
3. Basevitz P., Pushkar D., Chaikelson J., Conway M., Dalton C. Age-related differences in worry and related processes. International Journal of Aging and Human Development 2008, 66:283-305.
4. Berenbaum H., Bredemeier K., Thompson R.J. Intolerance for uncertainty: Exploring its dimensionality and associations with need for cognitive closure, psychopathology, and personality. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 2008, 22:117-125.
5. Buhr K., Dugas M.J. The intolerance for uncertainty scale: Psychometric properties of the English version. Behavior Research and Therapy 2002, 40:931-945.
6. Chaiken S., Liberman A., Eagly A.H. Heuristic and systematic processing within and beyond the persuasion context. Unintended thought 1989, 212-252. Guilford Press, New York, NY. J.S. Uleman, J.A. Bargh (Eds.).
7. Dhar S.K., Gonzalez-Vallejo C., Soman D. Modeling the effects of advertised price claims: Tensile versus precise claims?. Marketing Science 1999, 18(2):154-177.
8. Dugas M.J., Hedayati M., Karavidas A., Buhr K., Francis K., Phillips N. Intolerance for uncertainty and information processing: Evidence of biased recall and interpretation. Cognitive Therapy and Research 2005, 29:57-70.
9. Freeston M., Rheaume J., Letarte H., Dugas M., Ladouceur R. Why do people worry?. Personality and Individual Differences 1994, 17(6):791-802.
10. Gable P.A., Harmon-Jones E. Approach-motivated positive affect reduces breadth of attention. Psychological Science 2008, 19:476-482.
11. Goldsmith K., Amir O. Can uncertainty improve promotions?. Journal of Marketing Research 2010, 47:1070-1077.
12. Gosselin P., Ladouceur R., Evers A., Laverdiere A., Routhier S., Tremblay-Picard M. Evaluation of intolerance for uncertainty: Development and validation of a new self-report measure. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 2008, 22:1427-1439.
13. Grant S.J., Tybout A.M. The effect of temporal frame on information considered in new product evaluation: The role of uncertainty. Journal of Consumer Research 2008, 34:897-913.
14. Hayes A.F. Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis 2013, Guilford Press, New York, New York.
15. Johns M., Inzlicht M., Schmader T. Stereotype and executive resource depletion: Examining the influence of emotion regulation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 2008, 137:691-705.
16. Karmarkar U.R., Tormala Z.L. Believe me, I have no idea what I'm talking about: The effects of source certainty on consumer involvement and persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research 2010, 36:1033-1049.
17. Koerner N., Dugas M.J. A cognitive model of generalized anxiety disorder: The role of intolerance for uncertainty. Worry and its psychological disorders: Theory, assessment and treatment 2006, 201-216. Wiley, Chichester, England. G.C.L. Davey, A. Wells (Eds.).
18. Koerner N., Dugas M.J. An investigation of appraisals in individuals vulnerable to excessive worry: The role of intolerance for uncertainty. Cognitive Therapy and Research 2008, 32:619-638.
19. Ladouceur R., Gosselin P., Dugas M.J. Experimental manipulation of intolerance of uncertainty: A study of a theoretical model of worry. Behaviour Research and Therapy 2000, 38:933-941.
20. Lee Y.H., Qiu C. When uncertainty brings pleasure: The role of prospect imageability and mental imagery. Journal of Consumer Research 2009, 36:624-633.
21. Loewenstein G. The psychology of curiosity: A review and reinterpretation. Psychological Bulletin 1994, 116:75-98.
22. Mackinnon A., Jorm A.F., Christensen H., Korten A.E., Jacomb P.A., Rodgers B. A short form of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule: Evaluation of factorial validity and invariance across demographic variables in a community sample. Personality and Individual Differences 1999, 27:405-416.
23. Maheswaran D., Chaiken S. Promoting systematic processing in low-motivation settings: Effect of incongruent information on processing and judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1991, 61:13-25.
24. Mayer N.D., Tormala Z.L. "Think" versus "feel" framing effects in persuasion. Personality and Psychology Bulletin 2010, 36(4):443-454.
25. Norton M.I., Frost J.H., Ariely D. Less is more: The lure of ambiguity, or why familiarity breeds contempt. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2007, 92:97-105.
26. Petty R.E., Cacioppo J.T. Issue involvement can increase or decrease persuasion by enhancing message-relevant cognitive responses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1979, 37(10):1915-1926.
27. Poehlman T.A., Newman G.E. Potential: The valuation of imagined future achievement. Cognition 2014, 130:134-139.
28. Rucker D.D., Tormala Z.L., Petty R.E., Briñol P. Consumer conviction and commitment: An appraisal-based framework for attitude certainty. Journal of Consumer Psychology 2014, 24:119-136.
29. Schmeichel B.J., Vohs K. Self-affirmation and self-control: Affirming core values counteracts ego depletion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2009, 96:770-782.
30. Sigall H., Mills J. Measures of independent variables and mediators are useful in social psychology experiments: But are they necessary?. Personality and Social Psychology Review 1998, 2:218-226.
31. Sorrentino R.M., Short J.C. Uncertainty orientation, motivation, and cognition. Handbook of motivation and cognition: Foundations of social behavior 1986, Vol. 1:379-403. Guilford Press, New York. R.M. Sorrentino, E.T. Higgins (Eds.).
32. Spencer S.J., Zanna M.P., Fong G.T. Establishing a causal chain: Why experiments are often more effective than mediational analyses in examining psychological processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2005, 89(6):845-851.
33. Szeto A., Sorrentino R. Uncertainty orientation: Myths, truths, and the interface of. Handbook of the Uncertain Self 2013, 101.
34. Tiedens L.Z., Linton S. Judgment under emotional certainty and uncertainty: The effects of specific emotions on information processing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2001, 81:973-988.
35. Tormala Z.L., Briñol P., Petty R.E. When credibility attacks: The reverse impact of source credibility on persuasion. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 2006, 42(5):684-691.
36. Tormala Z.L., Jia J.S., Norton M.I. The preference for potential. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2012, 103(4):567-583.
37. Tormala Z.L., Rucker D.D. Attitude certainty: A review of past findings and emerging perspectives. Social and Personality Psychology Compass 2007, 1:469-492.
38. Vosgerau J., Wertenbroch K., Carmon Z. Indeterminacy and live television. Journal of Consumer Research 2006, 32:487-495.
39. Wilson T.D., Centerbar D.B., Kermer D.A., Gilbert D. The pleasures of uncertainty: Prolonging positive moods in ways people do not anticipate. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2005, 88:5-21.