Relational Uncertainty

In the study of interpersonal relationships, uncertainty about a partner or a relationship is frequently explored as one of the central experiences that influences the development of intimacy and closeness. Uncertainty is generally defined as the inability to predict or explain the attitudes or behaviors of another person. The earliest theorizing about the role of uncertainty in relationship development pointed to the ways in which uncertainty is a negative experience that needs to be eliminated for relationships to move forward. Other perspectives have examined the ways in which uncertainty is a natural and sometimes even desirable aspect of close personal relationships. These theories identify relational uncertainty as the degree of confidence that people have in their perceptions of a close personal relationship. From this point of view, relational uncertainty is unlikely to be fully eliminated during the course of relationship development, so it must be managed or embraced as an inherent feature in ongoing relationships. This entry examines the origins of relational uncertainty from uncertainty reduction theory, tracks the shifting perspective on the more persistent role of relational uncertainty in close relationships, and discusses perspectives that suggest relational uncertainty can be a desirable component of relationships.

Charles Berger and Richard Calabrese proposed uncertainty reduction theory to highlight the experience of uncertainty as a mechanism that affects the initiation of interpersonal relationships. The theory suggests that initial interactions are laden with uncertainty, which individuals are motivated to reduce in an effort to increase the predictability of their partner's future behavior. From this perspective, uncertainty is a negative state that people are motivated to resolve or to eliminate. Two features of relationships are especially likely to motivate uncertainty reduction. First, people are motivated to reduce their uncertainty about a partner if they anticipate future interaction with the person because they need to be able to predict how the partner will behave during their next encounter. Second, individuals are highly motivated to resolve uncertainty about a partner if a relationship with that person is perceived as highly rewarding because establishing an intimate relationship is challenging in the face of unresolved ambiguity about the partner. Given that uncertainty is an uncomfortable state that people are motivated to resolve, uncertainty reduction theory identified a variety of strategies communication partners [Page 845]can use to restore certainty about an interaction. Engaging in these information seeking strategies helps partners reduce uncertainty and increase predictability about a relationship partner. According to uncertainty reduction theory, heightened levels of uncertainty are an impediment to the development of intimacy; therefore, establishing an intimate bond with another person requires that uncertainty be resolved. Yet research has indicated that relational uncertainty is inherent to relationship development.