Abstract
Uncertainty of outcomes is a primary dimension underlying human judgment and decision making, and is a defining feature of risk. Even though uncertainty almost always exists in decision making contexts, individuals and cultures vary in their preference for avoiding uncertainty. This study examines how uncertainty avoidance influences judgments involving uncertain and risky alternatives. Participants were presented with problems that involve potential gains or losses and contain options reflecting uncertain or certain outcomes. Greater uncertainty avoidance predicted choices for uncertain outcomes that involved gains, which tend to promote risk aversion, but not for uncertain outcomes that led to losses, which tend to promote risk seeking. These results demonstrate that culturally-relevant dispositions such as uncertain avoidance can have complex effects on judgment.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by grants awarded to the second author from the National Science Foundation (BCS 0721796) and the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. We thank Martin Coleman, Dana Wallace, and Renee Magnan for comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. Portions of these results were presented at the 9th annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Albuquerque, NM.
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Ladbury, J.L., Hinsz, V.B. Uncertainty Avoidance Influences Choices for Potential Gains but not Losses. Curr Psychol 28, 187–193 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-009-9056-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-009-9056-z