Uncertainty Reduction Theory - Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory

Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory

Inspired by Berger's Theory, the late California State, Fullerton, communication professor William Gudykunst began to apply some of the axioms and theorems of Uncertainty Reduction Theory to intercultural settings. Despite their common axiomatic format and parallel focus on the meeting of strangers, Gudykunst's Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory (AUM) differs from Berger's Uncertainty Reduction Theory in several significant ways. First, AUM asserts that people do not always try to reduce uncertainty. When uncertainty allows people to maintain positive predicted outcome values, they may choose to manage their information intake such that they balance their level of uncertainty. Second, AUM claims that people experience uncertainty differently in different situations. People must evaluate whether a particular instance of uncertainty is stressful, and if so, what resources are available.