Uncertainty Orientation, the Self, and Others: Individual Differences in Values and Social Comparison

This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that individual differences in uncertainty orientation reflect differences in people's desire to learn about themselves and their environment. Subjects completed the Allport and Vernon (1931) Values Survey via microcomputer. Subsequently, they were shown their scores and permitted to view as many comparison scores as they wished. As predicted, uncertainty-oriented subjects viewed more comparison scores than did certainty-oriented subjects. This occurred regardless of whether they believed that the scores came from a similar (student) or dissimilar (community) sample or of how important the specific value was to them. Uncertainty-Oriented subjects also scored higher than certainty-oriented subjects in "Theoretical" and "Aesthetic" values on the Values Survey, reflecting an interest in trying to understand one's world. Certainty-oriented subjects scored higher in "Religious" values. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the construct uncertainty orientation and for theories of self-evaluation.