Background
Psychologists have long regarded uncertainty as something people prefer to remove. Yet some work suggested that uncertainty about positive experiences can prolong enjoyment. Wilson and colleagues reported that people's good moods lasted longer when they were unsure of why something pleasant had happened, an effect that people did not anticipate.
The experimental test
Bar-Anan, Wilson, and Gilbert tested the broader claim in 2009. They exposed participants to emotionally evocative material under conditions designed to make them more or less uncertain about what was coming. Feelings were stronger under uncertainty for both pleasant and unpleasant stimuli, which suggests the effect is not simply a matter of negative mood.
- Uncertainty may keep an event in mind for longer
- Attention may stay on an event that has not been fully explained
- Greater attention could strengthen the emotional reaction
How firm is this?
The hypothesis is based on a modest body of laboratory studies with mild stimuli, so its application to serious uncertainty, such as a medical diagnosis, is an inference. Uncertain threats have a substantial literature of their own, and anxiety research often finds them especially aversive, but this does not automatically apply to positive events. Researchers need to separate uncertainty from surprise and from anticipation. Larger replications would help establish how general the effect is.
Further reading
- Wilson, T. D., Centerbar, D. B., Kermer, D. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2005). The pleasures of uncertainty: Prolonging positive moods in ways people do not anticipate. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(1).
- Bar-Anan, Y., Wilson, T. D., & Gilbert, D. T. (2009). The feeling of uncertainty intensifies affective reactions. Emotion, 9(1).