COMM 250 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5a: Uncertainty Reduction Theory, Dog Eat Dog (1964 Film), Interpersonal Communication
30 Apr 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Uncertainty Reduction Theory (Interpersonal)
Goals, Concepts, and Assumptions
Historical Perspective
• Charles Berger and Richard Calabrese (1975)
• Initial Interaction Theory
o What happens when people meet each other for the first time
• Seminal article: "Some explorations in initial interaction and beyond: Toward a
developmental theory of interpersonal communication" (1975)
• First interpersonal communication theory grounded in the discipline
• Communication researchers were at the time interested in social interaction, self-
presentation, and self-disclosure
Goal of URT
• To explain:
o How uncertainty in initial encounters between strangers is reduced by
communication
• To predict:
o Communication behavior of strangers in initial encounters
• LAWS theory (stimulus and response)
• What are the theory's boundary conditions? Initial encounter (not interested in
communication at the end or life cycle of a relationship)
Concepts of URT
• Cognitions- beliefs and attitudes
• Uncertainty:
o Cognitive uncertainty: doubts people harbor about their own beliefs/attitudes and
those of others
o Behavioral uncertainty: doubts about their own actions as well as the actions of
others
• Relates to extent of predictability of behavior
Related Concepts
• URT is related to these communication concepts:
o Verbal output: language and what we say, how are we talking
o Non-verbal warmth: smiles, touching, hugs
o Information seeking: question asking
o Self disclosure: talking about ourselves with other people
o Reciprocity of disclosure: trading information back and forth (if I tell you my name,
you tell me yours)
o Similarity: how similar we are
o Liking: how much we like the other individual
Assumptions of URT
• In interpersonal settings, people experience uncertainty
• Uncertainty is aversive resulting in cognitive tension (stress)
• In initial encounters strangers are mainly concerned with reducing uncertainty
(increasing predictability)
• Interpersonal communication is developmental
o Entry: the beginning stage of an interaction between strangers
o Personal: when people begin to communicate more personally, casually
o Exit phrases: when people decide whether or not to continue the relationship or
move on
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• The main way to reduce uncertainty is through interpersonal communication
• The amount and type of information people share changes with time
• *Behavior can be predicted in a law-like manner*
o Trying to make predictions about human behavior
Uncertainty Reduction Theory's Explanation: The Axioms
Explanation of URT
• When strangers meet, they are unsure about their own thoughts (cognitive uncertainty)
and actions (behavioral uncertainty) and those of others
• Because the uncertainty is aversive, people are motivated to reduce it through
communication, so that they are better able to explain and predict their own actions and
those of others
URT Axioms & Theorems
• The original URT has 7 axioms and 12 theorems
• Axiom- Self-evident or universally recognized truth
• Theorem- General proposition not self-evident but proved by a chain of reasoning; a truth
established by means of accepted truths
Axiom 1
• Given the high level of uncertainty present at the onset of the entry phase, as the amount
of verbal communication between strangers increases, the level of uncertainty for each
interactant in the relationship will decrease
• As uncertainty is further reduced, the amount of verbal communication will increase
Axiom 2
• As nonverbal affiliative expressiveness increases, uncertainty levels will decrease in an
initial interaction situation
• Decreases in uncertainty level will cause increases in nonverbal affiliative expressiveness
Axiom 3
• High levels of uncertainty cause increases in information seeking behavior
• As uncertainty levels decline, information seeking behavior decreases
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