Uncertainty management theory
[2] Uncertainty Management Theory (UMT) was developed by Dale Brashers, an associate professor of Speech Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
[4] This includes the work of William Gudykunst, who continued with Berger's line of thinking, partnering together with him on Anxiety-Uncertainty Management (AUM) theory.
The idea of exhilarating uncertainty could best be illustrated by an individual's decision to participate in an extreme recreational activity such as skydiving, bungee jumping or parasailing.
[6] Interpersonal relationships have great application to the field of uncertainty management and arguably the widest appeal since everyone participates in the process of relating to others.
[7] Individuals engage in self-disclosure and other forms of interaction, particularly in the early stages of relationships, often for the sole purpose of exploring how the other party will respond.
[1] UMT posits that even in the early stages of relationship, one might choose to not self-disclose or to not seek self-disclosure to allow a level of uncertainty to remain.
The slowdown can also be the result of one or both of the parties reaching the desired level of intimacy and thus withholding additional personal information to not further the development of the relationship.
Uncertainty is often the result of multiple contributing factors that are connected to how they can affect different aspects of an individual's life.
[1] UMT applies across a wide spectrum of topics and experiences, most notably health, organizational and interpersonal settings.
Researchers studying health have employed UMT as a way to understand and communicate processes including medicine, technology, payer concerns and political ramifications.
[11] The role of medical malpractice litigation has also contributed to the complexity of communication between healthcare providers and patients regarding diagnosis and treatment options.
"[2] Sometimes these strategies are for self-preservation or the retention of power, where individuals create and/or maintain ambiguity to protect their status quo.
[14] This same line of thinking has been applied to perpetrators in the workplace who cloud inappropriate behavior with enough uncertainty to disguise what would otherwise be viewed as sexual harassment.
