Aversion to Uncertainty

Ask anyone how they feel toward uncertainty and you'll get a consistent response that we humans don't like it. We want life to be predictable. We hate ambivalence. When things are uncertain, we even become stressed. We feel an inner drive to resolve the uncertainty and rid ourselves of the accompanying feeling of anxiety.

Some recent, very cleverly-planned research sheds light on what's going on in our heads when we face uncertainty. Scientists have known for a long time that when we feel uncertain, our stress level increases. Recent studies have shown that dopamine in the brain plays a big role in this aversion of ours to uncertainty.

Science has previously shown that when good things happen, dopamine floods our brain, causing us to feel pleasure. This release of brain chemicals induces us to seek more of the good stuff and thus get more dopamine release—it literally propels us into action. This can cause addiction, when we become captive of the drive for more pleasure. What's fascinating is that the part of the brain—the “reward center” or striatum—that responds to the influx of dopamine and activates us to go for more of the good stuff, is the same place that propels us to run away from the bad stuff. In either case, dopamine plays a role. Whether our brain predicts good or bad outcomes, we feel the urge to act.

What this recent research shows is that when our brain cannot predict (either good or bad) outcomes, we stress out. The uncertainty creates anxiety. As an example, suppose you are driving across town for an important appointment. If you left early and traffic is light, you will arrive in plenty of time. Well before you arrive, it's certain that you'll be there on schedule, so you can relax and focus your attention on the impending meeting. In contrast, if you left a little later and got caught in a traffic jam, it becomes certain that you'll be late, so you might as well let go of anxiety and put your attention to how you'll deal with missing the appointment. You can even start working on your excuse. But if it's nip and tuck; if the traffic is very heavy and maybe getting worse, and it's really uncertain whether you'll make it or not, your stress level climbs.

It's kind of a control issue. If I'm convinced that either I'll win or lose in a situation—if I either have control or I don't—I feel less stress and maybe even not necessarily have a motive to act. I'll either coast to a win or concede defeat. Either way, I accept the situation. But if I'm uncertain of success or failure—if my ability to control the situation is up in the air—I feel anxious and I will be driven to take some kind of action, in an attempt to gain control.

Evolution has instilled this aversion to uncertainty in us. All animals—including Homo sapiens—need to take action when the situation is unpredictable. So there's good reason for the stress we experience: it's telling us to do something. Our survival can depend upon our transforming that unpredictability into certainty, and thus lower our stress and get on with life.