Making Sense of Life: The Existential Self Trying to Deal with Personal Uncertainty

van den Bos, Kees

doi:10.1080/10478400903333411

Cited by 396Death Anxiety and Social ExclusionCultural Differences and ValuesSocial and Intergroup Psychology

Making Sense of Life: The Existential Self Trying to Deal with Personal Uncertainty

van den Bos, Kees·2009·Psychological Inquiry

DOI 10.1080/10478400903333411

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

This article is about how people make sense of life and focuses on one core threat that may play a pivotal role in people's lives as existential meaning makers: personal uncertainty. Personal uncertainty is defined as the aversive feeling that you experience when you feel uncertain about yourself. Drawing on an uncertainty management perspective, it is hypothesized that cultural worldviews may provide a means to cope with personal uncertainty and that this may explain why under conditions of personal uncertainty people may respond especially positively to events that bolster their cultural norms and values and particularly negatively to persons and events that violate these norms and values. Findings are reviewed that support the uncertainty management model's predictions. Furthermore, the uncertainty management model may explain why terror management theory is not always about terror, but (at least partly) about personal uncertainty. Finally, conceptual implications, conflicting findings, and loose ends are noted, and testable hypotheses are formulated, which may further insight into the psychological processes pertaining to sense-making, worldview defense, and self-regulation.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1080/10478400903333411

Cites

175 of 175 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

For many people, global stressors exacerbate personal uncertainties, involving doubts in self-views and worldviews.
“For many people, these global stressors will additionally exacerbate personal uncertainties, involving doubts in self-views and worldviews [45].”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [45]
A drive to reduce uncertainty is tightly coupled with cognitive inflexibility.
“A drive to reduce uncertainty is tightly coupled with cognitive inflexibility.”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [45]
Individuals with a lower threshold for tolerating uncertainty tend to be more rigid and closed-minded in their worldviews, values, and attitudes, especially when uncertainty is explicitly linked with threat.
“Individuals with a lower threshold for tolerating uncertainty tend to be more rigid and closed-minded in their worldviews, values, and attitudes [45,153], especially when uncertainty is explicitly linked with threat [154,155].”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [45]

The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.51.6.1173 · Cited by 91,542 · see citing works
The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173 · Cited by 91,532 · see citing works
Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063 · Cited by 32,433 · see citing works
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Festinger, L. (1957) · doi:10.1515/9781503620766 · Cited by 24,241 · see citing works
The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037//0033-2909.117.3.497 · Cited by 23,245 · see citing works
Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1975) · Utility, Probability, and Human Decision Making · doi:10.1007/978-94-010-1834-0_8 · Cited by 22,650 · see citing works
Advances In Experimental Social Psychology
(2022) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(22)x0002-6 · Cited by 22,559 · see citing works
Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across NationsCulture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations (Second Edition), by HofstedeGeert. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2001
Bhagat, R. S., & Hofstede, G. (2002) · Academy of Management Review · doi:10.5465/amr.2002.7389951 · Cited by 21,680 · see citing works
A theory of social comparison processes
Festinger, L. (1954) · Human Relations · doi:10.1177/001872675400700202 · Cited by 20,926 · see citing works
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Morvan, C., & O’Connor, A. (2017) · Macat Library eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781912282432 · Cited by 18,284 · see citing works
Research in Organizational Behavior.
Grimes, A. J., Cummings, L. L., & Staw, B. M. (1986) · Administrative Science Quarterly · doi:10.2307/2392975 · Cited by 11,303 · see citing works
Motivation and personality
Kline, P. (1993) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/0191-8869(93)90054-7 · Cited by 8,800 · see citing works
Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases
(1982) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511809477 · Cited by 8,240 · see citing works
Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: The BIS/BAS scales
Carver, C. S., & White, T. L. (1994) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.67.2.319 · Cited by 7,306 · see citing works
The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice
Lind, E. A., & Tyler, T. R. (1988) · Critical Issues in Social Justice · doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-2115-4 · Cited by 6,585 · see citing works
Untitled work
(1999) · Cited by 6,104 · see citing works
Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases.
Shafer, G. R., Kahnerman, D., Slovic, P., & Tversky, A. (1984) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.2307/2288362 · Cited by 5,658 · see citing works
The Social Self: On Being the Same and Different at the Same Time
Brewer, M. B. (1991) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167291175001 · Cited by 5,107 · see citing works
A Theory of Psychological Reactance
Torrance, E. P., & Brehm, J. W. (1968) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1420824 · Cited by 4,755 · see citing works
Handbook of social psychology
(2004) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.41-3182 · Cited by 4,740 · see citing works
Judgment under uncertainty: List of contributors
Kahneman, D. J., Slovic, P., & Tversky, A. (1982) · Cited by 4,630 · see citing works
Judgment under uncertainty: Causality and attribution
Kahneman, D. J., Slovic, P., & Tversky, A. (1982) · Cited by 4,630 · see citing works
Précis of <i>The neuropsychology of anxiety: An enquiry into the functions of the septo-hippocampal system</i>
Gray, J. A. (1982) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x00013066 · Cited by 4,477 · see citing works
The illusion of control.
Langer, E. J. (1975) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.32.2.311 · Cited by 3,909 · see citing works
Does Rejection Hurt? An fMRI Study of Social Exclusion
Eisenberger, N. I., Lieberman, M. D., & Williams, K. D. (2003) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1089134 · Cited by 3,849 · see citing works
Handbook of self-regulation: research, theory, and applications
(2005) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.42-3719 · Cited by 3,644 · see citing works
Procedural Justice: A Psychological Analysis
Thibaut, J. W., & Walker, L. (1975) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 3,241 · see citing works
A Relational Model of Authority in Groups
Tyler, T. R., & Lind, E. A. (1992) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60283-x · Cited by 2,977 · see citing works
Procedural Justice: A Psychological Analysis
Caldeira, G. A., Thibaut, J. W., Walker, L., & Nagel, S. S. (1976) · The Western Political Quarterly · doi:10.2307/448155 · Cited by 2,907 · see citing works
Out of Control: Visceral Influences on Behavior
Loewenstein, G. (1996) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1006/obhd.1996.0028 · Cited by 2,610 · see citing works
The nature and function of self-esteem: Sociometer theory
Leary, M. R., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(00)80003-9 · Cited by 2,521 · see citing works
Social cognition, 2nd ed.
Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (1991) · Cited by 2,341 · see citing works
Organizational Justice and Human Resource Management
Folger, R. G., & Cropanzano, R. (1998) · Sage eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781452225777 · Cited by 1,885 · see citing works
A Theory of Psychological Reactance
Mishler, E. G. (1968) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-196811000-00013 · Cited by 1,665 · see citing works
Untitled work
(2004) · Cited by 1,588 · see citing works
Uncertainty and Structure as Psychological Concepts
Broadbent, D. Ε., & Garner, W. R. (1964) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1419296 · Cited by 1,514 · see citing works
Terror management theory of self-esteem and cultural worldviews: empirical assessments and conceptual refinements
Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., & Pyszczynski, T. (1997) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60016-7 · Cited by 1,505 · see citing works
Judgment under emotional certainty and uncertainty: The effects of specific emotions on information processing.
Tiedens, L. Z., & Linton, S. (2001) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.81.6.973 · Cited by 1,441 · see citing works
The Meaning Maintenance Model: On the Coherence of Social Motivations
Heine, S. J., Proulx, T., & Vohs, K. D. (2006) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr1002_1 · Cited by 1,437 · see citing works
Evidence for terror management theory II: The effects of mortality salience on reactions to those who threaten or bolster the cultural worldview
Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., Rosenblatt, A., Veeder, M., Kirkland, S., & Lyon, D. (1990) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.58.2.308 · Cited by 1,412 · see citing works
A dual-process model of defense against conscious and unconscious death-related thoughts: An extension of terror management theory
Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J., & Solomon, S. (1999) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.106.4.835 · Cited by 1,390 · see citing works
Evidence for terror management theory: I. The effects of mortality salience on reactions to those who violate or uphold cultural values.
Rosenblatt, A., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Pyszczynski, T., & Lyon, D. (1989) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.57.4.681 · Cited by 1,323 · cited 1× · see citing works
“I expanded this model because I wanted to make explicit an assumption that was present implicitly in the earlier research, namely, that unfair treatment violates people's cultural worldviews whereas fair treatment bolsters people's cultural worldviews ( Van den Bos & Miedema, 2000 ; see also Rosenblatt, Greenberg, Sol…”
Background
A Terror Management Theory of Social Behavior: The Psychological Functions of Self-Esteem and Cultural Worldviews
Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (1991) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60328-7 · Cited by 1,296 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Furthermore, although the mortality salience paradigm is the most widely used paradigm in the terror management field (for overviews, see, e.g., Greenberg et al., 1997; Pyszczynski et al., 1999; Solomon et al., 1991), there are definitely some elements of theory and research on terror management that are unrelated to…”
Background
Between Hope and Fear: The Psychology of Risk
Lopes, L. L. (1987) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60416-5 · Cited by 1,160 · see citing works
Value and need as organizing factors in perception.
Bruner, J. S., & Goodman, C. C. (1947) · Journal of Abnormal & Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0058484 · Cited by 1,138 · see citing works
Social Cognition: Making Sense of People
Howard, J. A., & Kunda, Z. (2000) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2654104 · Cited by 1,069 · see citing works
Judgment under emotional certainty and uncertainty: The effects of specific emotions on information processing.
Tiedens, L. Z., & Linton, S. (2001) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.81.6.973 · Cited by 1,051 · see citing works
Self-Evaluation: To Thine Own Self Be Good, To Thine Own Self Be Sure, To Thine Own Self Be True, and To Thine Own Self be Better
Sedikides, C., & Strube, M. (1997) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60018-0 · Cited by 1,045 · see citing works
Uncertainty–identity theory
Hogg, M. A. (2007) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(06)39002-8 · Cited by 990 · see citing works
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
Sapolsky, R. M. (1994) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 971 · see citing works
Untitled work
(1988) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 932 · see citing works
Uncertainty management by means of fairness judgments
van den Bos, K., & Lind, E. A. (2002) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(02)80003-x · Cited by 913 · see citing works
Social Identity and Social Cognition
Abrams, D. J., & Hogg, M. A. (1999) · Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) · Cited by 894 · see citing works
Coping with Uncertainty: A Naturalistic Decision-Making Analysis
Lipshitz, R., & Strauss, O. (1997) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1006/obhd.1997.2679 · Cited by 878 · see citing works
Micro-Economic Foundations of Employment and Inflation Theory.
Fisher, M. R., & Phelps, E. S. (1972) · The Economic Journal · doi:10.2307/2230017 · Cited by 855 · see citing works
Restoring the self: Positive affect helps improve self-regulation following ego depletion
Tice, D. M., Baumeister, R. F., Shmueli, D., & Muraven, M. (2007) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2006.05.007 · Cited by 836 · see citing works
When fairness works: Toward a general theory of uncertainty management
Lind, E. A., & van den Bos, K. (2002) · Research in Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0191-3085(02)24006-x · Cited by 812 · see citing works
Optimizing assurance: The risk regulation system in relationships.
Murray, S., Holmes, J. G., & Collins, N. L. (2006) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.5.641 · Cited by 811 · see citing works
God and the government: Testing a compensatory control mechanism for the support of external systems
Kay, A. C., Gaucher, D., Napier, J. L., Callan, M. J., & Laurin, K. (2008) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.95.1.18 · Cited by 809 · see citing works
Positive illusions: creative self-deception and the healthy mind
(1990) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.27-4168 · Cited by 790 · see citing works
Social Cognition
Kunda, Z. (1999) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/6291.001.0001 · Cited by 777 · see citing works
The Nature of Job Insecurity: Understanding Employment Uncertainty on the Brink of a New Millennium
Sverke, M., & Hellgren, J. (2002) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/1464-0597.0077z · Cited by 713 · see citing works
Effects of justice conditions on discrete emotions.
Weiss, H. M., Suckow, K., & Cropanzano, R. (1999) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.84.5.786 · Cited by 705 · see citing works
Are Needs to Manage Uncertainty and Threat Associated With Political Conservatism or Ideological Extremity?
Jost, J. T., Napier, J. L., Þórisdóttir, H., Gosling, S. D., Palfai, T. P., & Ostafin, B. D. (2007) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167207301028 · Cited by 684 · see citing works
Terror management theory and self-esteem: Evidence that increased self-esteem reduced mortality salience effects.
Harmon-Jones, E., Simon, L., Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., & McGregor, H. (1997) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.72.1.24 · Cited by 677 · see citing works
Social Justice in a Diverse Society
Tyler, T. R., Boeckmann, R. J., Smith, H. J., & Huo, Y. J. (2019) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780429306310 · Cited by 667 · see citing works
Uncertainty management: The influence of uncertainty salience on reactions to perceived procedural fairness.
van den Bos, K. (2001) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.80.6.931 · Cited by 657 · see citing works
Microeconomic Foundations of Employment and Inflation Theory.
Thornton, R. J., & Phelps, E. S. (1972) · Industrial and Labor Relations Review · doi:10.2307/2521329 · Cited by 592 · see citing works
Motivation and personality, 3rd ed.
Maslow, A. H. (1987) · Cited by 574 · see citing works
Social justice in a diverse society
(1997) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.35-1237 · Cited by 573 · see citing works
Positive Illusions: Creative Self-Deception and the Healthy Mind
Shainess, N. (1990) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1990.03440130147046 · Cited by 560 · see citing works
Terror management and aggression: Evidence that mortality salience motivates aggression against worldview-threatening others.
McGregor, H. A., Lieberman, J. D., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Arndt, M., Simon, L., & Pyszczynski, T. (1998) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.74.3.590 · Cited by 551 · see citing works
Service failure recovery: The moderating impact of individual-level cultural value orientation on perceptions of justice
Patterson, P. G., Cowley, E., & Prasongsukarn, K. (2006) · International Journal of Research in Marketing · doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2006.02.004 · Cited by 525 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Other fairness studies have found similar effects not just for the salience of personal uncertainty but also for real experienced personal uncertainty ( Maas & Van den Bos, 2009a ) and for stable differences in uncertainty orientation ( Hofstede, 2001 ) in the context of important real-world situations or in organizat…”
Background
Compensatory conviction in the face of personal uncertainty: Going to extremes and being oneself.
McGregor, I., Zanna, M. P., Holmes, J. G., & Spencer, S. J. (2001) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.80.3.472 · Cited by 523 · see citing works
Uncertainty, entitativity, and group identification
Hogg, M. A., Sherman, D. K., Dierselhuis, J., Maitner, A. T., & Moffitt, G. (2006) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2005.12.008 · Cited by 506 · see citing works
Sickness Unto Death
Kierkegaard, S., & Lowrie, W. (1849) · Cited by 501 · see citing works
The Pleasures of Uncertainty: Prolonging Positive Moods in Ways People Do Not Anticipate.
Wilson, T. D., Centerbar, D. B., Kermer, D. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2005) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.88.1.5 · Cited by 476 · see citing works
Procedural and distributive justice: What is fair depends more on what comes first than on what comes next.
van den Bos, K., Vermunt, R. C., & Wilke, H. (1997) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.72.1.95 · Cited by 454 · see citing works
Social Justice and Social MovementsPreprint
Tyler, T. R., & Smith, H. J. (1995) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 424 · see citing works
Losing sleep over organizational injustice: Attenuating insomniac reactions to underpayment inequity with supervisory training in interactional justice.
Greenberg, J. (2006) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.91.1.58 · Cited by 424 · see citing works
Language and Social Knowledge: Uncertainty in Interpersonal Relations.
Callero, P. L., Berger, C. R., & Bradac, J. J. (1983) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2068062 · Cited by 423 · see citing works
Self-regulatory processes defend against the threat of death: Effects of self-control depletion and trait self-control on thoughts and fears of dying.
Gailliot, M. T., Schmeichel, B. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2006) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.49 · Cited by 361 · see citing works
The Fear of Freedom
Fromm, E. (2021) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781003171317 · Cited by 353 · see citing works
Attachment, Self-Esteem, Worldviews, and Terror Management: Evidence for a Tripartite Security System.
Hart, J., Shaver, P. R., & Goldenberg, J. L. (2005) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.88.6.999 · Cited by 344 · see citing works
Effects of "voice" and peer opinions on responses to inequity.
Folger, R. G., Rosenfield, D., Grove, J., & Corkran, L. (1979) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.37.12.2253 · Cited by 332 · see citing works
Uncertainty, stress, and health
Greco, V., & Roger, D. (2003) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(02)00091-0 · Cited by 325 · see citing works
Giving Up Control without Losing Control
Spreitzer, G. M., & Mishra, A. K. (1999) · Group & Organization Management · doi:10.1177/1059601199242003 · Cited by 298 · see citing works
Illusions of control, underestimations, and accuracy: A control heuristic explanation.
Thompson, S. C. G., Armstrong, W., & Thomas, C. (1998) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.123.2.143 · Cited by 296 · see citing works
Joining groups to reduce uncertainty: Subjective uncertainty reduction and group identification
Hogg, M. A., & Mullin, B.-A. (1999) · Cited by 285 · see citing works
Coping with uncertainty: the construction and validation of a new measure
Greco, V., & Roger, D. (2001) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(00)00156-2 · Cited by 279 · see citing works
A Function of Form: Terror Management and Structuring the Social World.
Landau, M. J., Johns, M., Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., Martens, A., Goldenberg, J. L., & Solomon, S. (2004) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.87.2.190 · Cited by 275 · see citing works
Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief
Blazer, D. G. (2000) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.157.2.299-a · Cited by 261 · see citing works
Cross-cultural adaptation: Current approaches
Kim, J. K. (1988) · International Journal of Intercultural Relations · doi:10.1016/0147-1767(88)90035-1 · Cited by 260 · see citing works
An enquiry concerning the principles of cultural norms and values: The impact of uncertainty and mortality salience on reactions to violations and bolstering of cultural worldviews
van den Bos, K., Poortvliet, P. M., Maas, M., Miedema, J., & van den Ham, E.-J. (2005) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2004.06.001 · Cited by 259 · see citing works
The cognitive neuroscience of self-regulation
Banfield, J. F., Wyland, C. L., Macrae, C. N., Münte, T. F., & Heatherton, T. F. (2004) · Cited by 252 · see citing works
Toward understanding why fairness matters: The influence of mortality salience on reactions to procedural fairness.
van den Bos, K., & Miedema, J. (2000) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.79.3.355 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
If you feel bad, it’s unfair: A quantitative synthesis of affect and organizational justice perceptions
Barsky, A., & Kaplan, S. A. (2007) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.92.1.286 · Cited by 243 · see citing works
Motivated Social Perception
Spencer, S. J., Fein, S., Zanna, M. P., & Olson, J. M. (2003) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781410606679 · Cited by 240 · see citing works
Some basic issues regarding dual-process theories from the perspective of cognitive–experiential self-theory.
Epstein, S. J., & Pacini, R. (1999) · Cited by 238 · see citing works
A time to tan: Proximal and distal effects of mortality salience on sun exposure intentions
Routledge, C., Arndt, J., & Goldenberg, J. L. (2004) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167204264056 · Cited by 223 · see citing works
When Ignorance Is Bliss The Role of Motivation to Reduce Uncertainty in Uncertainty Reduction Theory
Kellermann, K., & REYNOLDS, R. (1990) · Human Communication Research · doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.1990.tb00226.x · Cited by 218 · see citing works
The Social Mind
Forgas, J. P., Williams, K. D., & Wheeler, L. S. (2001) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · Cited by 215 · see citing works
The Devil You Know
Hirsh, J. B., & Inzlicht, M. (2008) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02183.x · Cited by 215 · see citing works
Greed, death, and values: From terror management to transcendence management theory
Cozzolino, P. J., Staples, A. D., Meyers, L. S., & Samboceti, J. (2004) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167203260716 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
Uncertainty orientation and persuasion: Individual differences in the effects of personal relevance on social judgments.
Sorrentino, R. M., Bobocel, D. R., Gitta, M. Z., Olson, J. M., & Hewitt, E. C. (1988) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.55.3.357 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Maps of Meaning
Peterson, J. B. (2002) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203902851 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Computer simulation of "hot cognition"
Abelson, R. P. (1963) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 190 · see citing works
Derogation and distancing as terror management strategies: The moderating role of need for closure and permeability of group boundaries.
Dechesne, M., Janssen, J., & van Knippenberg, A. (2000) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.79.6.923 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
Anxiety and Intergroup Bias: Terror Management or Coalitional Psychology?
Navarrete, C. D., Kurzban, R., Fessler, D. M. T., & Kirkpatrick, L. A. (2004) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430204046144 · Cited by 179 · see citing works
Handbook of the Uncertain Self
(2013) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203848753 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Combined effects of uncertainty and organizational justice on employee health: Testing the uncertainty management model of fairness judgments among Finnish public sector employees
Elovainio, M. J., van den Bos, K., Linna, A., Mika Kivimaki, B., Ala‐Mursula, L., Pentti, J., & Vahtera, J. (2005) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.04.046 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
The Death-Anxiety Buffering Function of Close Relationships: Exploring the Effects of Separation Reminders on Death-Thought Accessibility
Mikulincer, M., Florian, V., Birnbaum, G., & Malishkevich, S. (2002) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167202286001 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Causal uncertainty beliefs and diagnostic information seeking.
Weary, G., & Jacobson, J. A. (1997) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.73.4.839 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
An extension of uncertainty management theory to the self: The relationship between justice, social comparison orientation, and antisocial work behaviors.
Thau, S., Aquino, K. F., & Wittek, R. P. M. (2007) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.92.1.250 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Death and Black Diamonds: Meaning, Mortality, and the Meaning Maintenance Model
Proulx, T., & Heine, S. J. (2006) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1080/10478400701366985 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Creativity and terror management: Evidence that creative activity increases guilt and social projection following mortality salience
Arndt, J., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Pyszczynski, T., & Schimel, J. (1999) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.77.1.19 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Connections From Kafka
Proulx, T., & Heine, S. J. (2009) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02414.x · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Group Belongingness and Procedural Justice: Social Inclusion and Exclusion by Peers Affects the Psychology of Voice.
van Prooijen, J., van den Bos, K., & Wilke, H. (2004) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.87.1.66 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
"It's the End of the World as We Know It": Threat and the Spatial-Symbolic Self.
Burris, C. T., & Rempel, J. K. (2004) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.86.1.19 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Untitled work
DeWall (2007) · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.02013.x · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Perception in the Service of Goal Pursuit: Motivation to Attain Goals Enhances the Perceived Size of Goal-Instrumental Objects
Veltkamp, M., Aarts, H., & Ruud Custers, A. (2008) · Social Cognition · doi:10.1521/soco.2008.26.6.720 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Derogation and distancing as terror management strategies: The moderating role of need for closure and permeability of group boundaries.
Dechesne, M., Janssen, J., & van Knippenberg, A. (2000) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.79.6.923 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
On the Psychology of the Belief in a Just World: Exploring Experiential and Rationalistic Paths to Victim Blaming
van den Bos, K., & Maas, M. (2009) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167209344628 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Advances in the psychology of justice and affect
Cremer, D. D. (2007) · Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Causal uncertainty beliefs and diagnostic information seeking.
Weary, G., & Jacobson, J. A. (1997) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.73.4.839 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Social justice research
Rawsthorne, M., Tseris, E. J., Howard, A. R. H., Terare, M., & Sharma, A. (2023) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781003243793-3 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Moderating effects of job insecurity in the relationships between procedural justice and employee well-being: Gender differences
Kausto, J., Elo, A.-L., Lipponen, J., & Elovainio, M. J. (2005) · European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1080/13594320500349813 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
Uncertainty orientation: Implications for affective and cognitive views of achievement behavior.
Sorrentino, R. M., Short, J.-A. C., & Raynor, J. O. (1984) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.46.1.189 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
The influence of interdependent self-construal on procedural fairness effects
Brockner, J., Cremer, D. D., van den Bos, K., & Chen, Y.-R. (2004) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2004.11.001 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
What is responsible for the fair process effect
van den Bos, K. (2005) · Cited by 105 · see citing works
I-D Compensation Theory: Some Implications of Trying to Satisfy Immediate-Return Needs in a Delayed-Return Culture
Martin, L. L. (1999) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1207/s15327965pli1003_1 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
The enhancement effect in probability judgment
Koehler, D. J., Brenner, L. A., & Tversky, A. (1997) · Journal of Behavioral Decision Making · doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-0771(199712)10:4 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Coping With Uncertainty: Superstitious Strategies and Secondary Control1
Case, T. I., Fitness, J., Cairns, D. R., & Stevenson, R. J. (2004) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2004.tb02574.x · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Availability of Information and the Aggregation of Confidence in Prior Decisions
Treadwell, J. R., & Nelson, T. O. (1996) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1006/obhd.1996.0086 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Quantity versus uncertainty: When winning one prize is better than winning two
Kurtz, J. L., Wilson, T. D., & Gilbert, D. T. (2006) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2006.10.020 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Self-categorization and subjective uncertainty resolution: Cognitive and motivational facets of social identity and group membership
Hogg, M. A. (2001) · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Beyond the Spectacle of Terrorism: Global Uncertainty and the Challenge of the New Media
Giroux, H. A. (2006) · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Referent Cognitions Theory: The role of closeness of reference points in the psychology of voice.
van den Bos, K., & van Prooijen, J. (2001) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.81.4.616 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
"Remembering" dissonance: Simultaneous accessibility of inconsistent cognitive elements moderates epistemic discomfort.
McGregor, I., Newby‐Clark, I. R., & Zanna, M. P. (2004) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/10318-013 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Experimental Psychology
(1904) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.19.486.659.b · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Uncertainty Orientation, Achievement-Related Motivation, and Task Diagnosticity as Determinants of Task Performance
Sorrentino, R. M., & Roney, C. J. R. (1986) · Social Cognition · doi:10.1521/soco.1986.4.4.420 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
On the Psychology of Religion: The Role of Personal Uncertainty in Religious Worldview Defense
van den Bos, K., van Ameijde, J. D. J., & van Gorp, H. (2006) · Basic and Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1207/s15324834basp2804_6 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
The Function of Self-Esteem in Terror Management Theory and Sociometer Theory: Comment on Pyszczynski et al. (2004).
Leary, M. R. (2004) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.478 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
The Need for Certainty: A Sociological Study of Conventional Religion
Holsworth, T., & Towler, R. (1986) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1385925 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Justice and the human alarm system: The impact of exclamation points and flashing lights on the justice judgment process
van den Bos, K., Ham, J. R. C., Lind, E. A., Simonis, M., van Essen, W. J., & Rijpkema, M. (2007) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2007.03.001 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Motivated social perception
Spencer, S. J. (2003) · Lawrence Erlbaum Associates eBooks · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Causal-uncertainty beliefs and related goal structures.
Weary, G., & Edwards, J. A. (1996) · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Uncertainty Management and Social Issues: Uncertainty as an Important Determinant of Reactions to Socially Deviating People1
van den Bos, K., Euwema, M., Poortvliet, P. M., & Maas, M. (2007) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00235.x · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Emerging Issues in the Social Psychology of Justice
Folger, R. G. (1984) · Critical issues in social justice · doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-2683-0_1 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
The Social Psychology of Fairness and the Regulation of Personal Uncertainty
van den Bos, K., & Lind, E. A. (2015) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203848753.ch7 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Reactions to decisions with uncertain consequences: Reliance on perceived fairness versus predicted outcomes depends on knowledge.
See, K. E. (2009) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0013266 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Procedural justice and intragroup status: Knowing where we stand in a group enhances reactions to procedures
van Prooijen, J., van den Bos, K., & Wilke, H. (2005) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2004.12.003 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Immediate and delayed effects of causal uncertainty inductions on uncertainty accessibility
Wichman, A. L., Brunner, R. P., & Weary, G. (2008) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2007.12.002 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Helping to overcome intervention inertia in bystander’s dilemmas: Behavioral disinhibition can improve the greater good
van den Bos, K., Müller, P. A., & van Bussel, A. A. L. (2009) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2009.03.014 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Appropriateness of decisions as a moderator of the psychology of voice
van den Bos, K., & Spruijt, N. (2001) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.61 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
HOT COGNITION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE JUDGMENTS The Combined Influence of Cognitive and Affective Factors on the Justice Judgment Process
van den Bos, K. (2007) · Information Age Publishing eBooks · Cited by 42 · see citing works
An affective-experiential perspective on reactions to fair and unfair events: Individual differences in affect intensity moderated by experiential mindsets
Maas, M., & van den Bos, K. (2009) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2009.02.014 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Uncertainty: Behavioral and Social Dimensions
Kiddle, S. (1980) · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Procedural Fairness Responses in the Context of Self-Uncertainty
Sedikides, C., David De Cremer, A., Hart, C. M., & Brebels, L. (2015) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203848753.ch8 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Effects of Uncertainty and Mortality Salience on Worldview Defense Reactions in Turkey
Yavuz, H., & van den Bos, K. (2009) · Social Justice Research · doi:10.1007/s11211-009-0104-5 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
CHAPTER 8 The Social Psychology of Uncertainty Management and System Justification
van den Bos, K. (2009) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320916.003.008 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Exploring how people respond to conflicts between self-interest and fairness: Influence of threats to the self on affective reactions to advantageous inequity
Loseman, A., Miedema, J., van den Bos, K., & Vermunt, R. C. (2009) · Australian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1080/00049530802607605 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
The Influence of Self-Threats on Fairness Judgments and Affective Measures
Miedemam, J., van den Bos, K., & Vermunt, R. C. (2006) · Social Justice Research · doi:10.1007/s11211-006-0007-7 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
How people cope with uncertainty due to chance or deception
Schul, Y., Mayo, R., Burnstein, E., & Yahalom, N. (2006) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2006.02.015 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Existential Meanings and Cultural Models: The Interplay of Personal and Supernatural Agency in American and Hindu Ways of Responding to Uncertainty.
Young, M. J., & Morris, M. W. (2004) · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Toward unconfounding prediction and control: Predictionless control made possible.
Nickels, J. B., Cramer, K. M., & Gural, D. M. (1992) · Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement · doi:10.1037/h0078704 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Uncertainty Management After Reorganizations: The Ameliorative Effect of Outcome Fairness on Job Uncertainty
van den Bos, K., Heuven, E., Burger, E. B., & Veldhuizen, M. F. V. (2006) · Cairn.info · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Effects of control deprivation on subsequent use of stereotypes
Ric, F. (1997) · The Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/00224549709595444 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Uncertainty orientation and the social mind: Individual differences in the interpersonal context.
Sorrentino, R. M., Hodson, G., & Huber, G. L. (2001) · Cited by 13 · see citing works
THE EFFECTS OF MORTALITY SALIENCE ON PERSONALLY-RELEVANT PERSUASIVE APPEALS
Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., Psyzczynskii, T., & Pryzbylinski, J. (1995) · Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal · doi:10.2224/sbp.1995.23.2.177 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Coping with Life's One Certainty: A Terror Management Perspective on the Existentially Uncetain Self
Landau, M. J., Greenberg, J., & Kosloff, S. (2015) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203848753.ch11 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Defensive Conviction as Emotion Regulation: Goal Mechanisms and Interpersonal Implications
Marigold, D. C., McGregor, I., & Zanna, M. P. (2015) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203848753.ch13 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-regulation, homeostasis, and behavioral disinhibition in normative judgments
van den Bos, K. (2010) · doi:10.4324/9780203837658-13 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
The Uncertainty Surrounding Ostracism: Threat Amplifier or Protector?
Chen, Z., Law, A. T., & Williams, K. D. (2015) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203848753.ch16 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Motivation and Personality
(1997) · Naming the Mind: How Psychology Found its Language · doi:10.4135/9781446221815.n7 · Cited by 3 · see citing works

Flagged first, then by citations

2 of the 177 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Sorted by citations

Conspiracy theories as part of history: The role of societal crisis situations
van Prooijen, J.-W., & Douglas, K. M. (2017) · Memory Studies · doi:10.1177/1750698017701615 · Cited by 764 · see citing works
Meaning in Life as Comprehension, Purpose, and Mattering: Toward Integration and New Research Questions
George, L. S., & Park, C. L. (2016) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1037/gpr0000077 · Cited by 565 · see citing works
Threat and Defense
Jonas, E., McGregor, I., Klackl, J., Agroskin, D., Fritsche, I., Holbrook, C., Nash, K., Proulx, T., & Quirin, M. (2014) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-800052-6.00004-4 · Cited by 447 · see citing works
The Influence of Control on Belief in Conspiracy Theories: Conceptual and Applied Extensions
van Prooijen, J., & Acker, M. (2015) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3161 · Cited by 407 · see citing works
Understanding all inconsistency compensation as a palliative response to violated expectations
Proulx, T., Inzlicht, M., & Harmon‐Jones, E. (2012) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2012.04.002 · Cited by 407 · see citing works
Connecting the dots: illusory pattern perception predicts belief in conspiracies and the supernatural
van Prooijen, J., Douglas, K. M., & De Inocencio, C. (2018) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2331 · Cited by 355 · see citing works
“The desire to make sense of the world is of particular importance to people when they lack control (Park, 2010) or when they are uncertain (Van den Bos, 2009).”
Background
The Five “A”s of Meaning Maintenance: Finding Meaning in the Theories of Sense-Making
Proulx, T., & Inzlicht, M. (2012) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1080/1047840x.2012.702372 · Cited by 356 · see citing works
Determinants of Radicalization of Islamic Youth in the Netherlands: Personal Uncertainty, Perceived Injustice, and Perceived Group Threat
Doosje, B., Loseman, A., & van den Bos, K. (2013) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.12030 · Cited by 355 · see citing works
Religious Belief as Compensatory Control
Kay, A. C., Gaucher, D. M., McGregor, I., & Nash, K. A. (2009) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868309353750 · Cited by 345 · see citing works
The Relationship Between Uncertainty and Affect
Anderson, E. C., Carleton, R. N., Diefenbach, M., & Han, P. K. J. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02504 · Cited by 332 · see citing works
From Uncertainty to Extremism
Hogg, M. A. (2014) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0963721414540168 · Cited by 299 · see citing works
Identity Motives
Vignoles, V. L. (2011) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-7988-9_18 · Cited by 295 · see citing works
Belief in conspiracy theories: The influence of uncertainty and perceived morality
van Prooijen, J., & Jostmann, N. B. (2013) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.1922 · Cited by 403 · see citing works
Zeroing in on heroes: A prototype analysis of hero features.
Kinsella, E. L., Ritchie, T. D., & Igou, E. R. (2015) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0038463 · Cited by 256 · see citing works
Global warming is breeding social conflict: The subtle impact of climate change threat on authoritarian tendencies
Fritsche, I., Cohrs, J. C., Kessler, T., & Bauer, J. (2011) · Journal of Environmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2011.10.002 · Cited by 243 · see citing works
The power of we: Evidence for group-based control
Fritsche, I., Jonas, E., Ablasser, C., Beyer, M., Kuban, J., Manger, A.-M., & Schultz, M. (2012) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2012.07.014 · Cited by 249 · see citing works
Seeking structure in social organization: Compensatory control and the psychological advantages of hierarchy.
Friesen, J. P., Kay, A. C., Eibach, R. P., & Galinsky, A. D. (2014) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0035620 · Cited by 229 · see citing works
Multicultural experiences reduce intergroup bias through epistemic unfreezing.
Tadmor, C. T., Hong, Y.-Y., Chao, M. M., Wiruchnipawan, F., & Wang, W. (2012) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0029719 · Cited by 204 · see citing works
Anxious uncertainty and reactive approach motivation (RAM).
McGregor, I., Nash, K. A., Mann, N. H., & Phills, C. E. (2010) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0019701 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
Collective Reactions to Threat: Implications for Intergroup Conflict and for Solving Societal Crises
Fritsche, I., Jonas, E., & Kessler, T. (2011) · Social Issues and Policy Review · doi:10.1111/j.1751-2409.2011.01027.x · Cited by 203 · see citing works
Uncertainty and the Roots of Extremism
Hogg, M. A., Kruglanski, A. W., & van den Bos, K. (2013) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.12021 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
On the perpetuation of ignorance: System dependence, system justification, and the motivated avoidance of sociopolitical information.
Shepherd, S., & Kay, A. C. (2011) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0026272 · Cited by 193 · see citing works
What breeds conspiracy antisemitism? The role of political uncontrollability and uncertainty in the belief in Jewish conspiracy
Kofta, M., Soral, W., & Bilewicz, M. (2020) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspa0000183 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
Lay perspectives on the social and psychological functions of heroes
Kinsella, E. L., Ritchie, T. D., & Igou, E. R. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00130 · Cited by 184 · see citing works
When consequence size predicts belief in conspiracy theories: The moderating role of perspective taking
van Prooijen, J., & van Dijk, E. (2014) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2014.06.006 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
“My In‐group is Superior!”: Susceptibility for Radical Right‐wing Attitudes and Behaviors in Dutch Youth
Doosje, B., van den Bos, K., Loseman, A., Feddes, A. R., & Mann, L. (2012) · Negotiation and Conflict Management Research · doi:10.1111/j.1750-4716.2012.00099.x · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Collective Psychological Ownership and Intergroup Relations
Verkuyten, M., & Martinović, B. (2017) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691617706514 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Self-uncertainty, social identity prominence and group identification
Grant, F., & Hogg, M. A. (2011) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2011.11.006 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Perception in the Service of Goal Pursuit: Motivation to Attain Goals Enhances the Perceived Size of Goal-Instrumental Objects
Veltkamp, M., Aarts, H., & Ruud Custers, A. (2008) · Social Cognition · doi:10.1521/soco.2008.26.6.720 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Group Processes and Intergroup Relations
Hogg, M. A., & Gaffney, A. M. (2018) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119170174.epcn414 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Uncertain Self in a Changing World: A Foundation for Radicalisation, Populism, and Autocratic Leadership
Hogg, M. A. (2020) · European Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/10463283.2020.1827628 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Exploring the Existential Function of Religion and Supernatural Agent Beliefs Among Christians, Muslims, Atheists, and Agnostics
Vail, K. E., Arndt, J., & Abdollahi, A. (2012) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167212449361 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
The Psychology of Middle Power: Vertical Code-Switching, Role Conflict, and Behavioral Inhibition
Anicich, E. M., & Hirsh, J. B. (2017) · Academy of Management Review · doi:10.5465/amr.2016.0002 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
What reduces product uncertainty in live streaming e-commerce? From a signal consistency perspective
Chen, X. S., Shen, J., & Wei, S. (2023) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103441 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Sometimes inclusion breeds suspicion: Self‐uncertainty and belongingness predict belief in conspiracy theories
van Prooijen, J. (2016) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2157 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
The entertainment value of conspiracy theories
van Prooijen, J., Ligthart, J., Rosema, S., & Xu, Y. (2021) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12522 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Unfairness and Radicalization
van den Bos, K. (2019) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050953 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
The social dimension of belief in conspiracy theories
van Prooijen, J., & Lange, P. A. M. V. (2014) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139565417.017 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Leadership under uncertainty: When leaders who are non-prototypical group members can gain support
Rast, D. E., Gaffney, A. M., Hogg, M. A., & Crisp, R. J. (2011) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2011.12.013 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Social Identities, Group Norms, and Threat: On the Malleability of Ingroup Bias
Giannakakis, A. E., & Fritsche, I. (2011) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167210386120 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Immorality East and West
Buchtel, E. E., Guan, Y., Peng, Q., Su, Y., Sang, B., Chen, S. X., & Bond, M. H. (2015) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167215595606 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Terror Management Theory and Research: How the Desire for Death Transcendence Drives Our Strivings for Meaning and Significance
Greenberg, J., Vail, K., & Pyszczynski, T. (2014) · Advances in Motivation Science · doi:10.1016/bs.adms.2014.08.003 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Imagining intergroup contact enables member-to-group generalization.
Stathi, S., Crisp, R. J., & Hogg, M. A. (2011) · Group Dynamics Theory Research and Practice · doi:10.1037/a0023752 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Uncertainty Increases the Reliance on Affect in DecisionsPreprint
Faraji‐Rad, A., & Pham, M. T. (2016) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2715333 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Professional identity formation: linking meaning to well-being
Toubassi, D., Schenker, C., Roberts, M., & Forte, M. (2022) · Advances in Health Sciences Education · doi:10.1007/s10459-022-10146-2 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Organizational justice research: A review, synthesis, and research agenda
Adamovic, M. (2023) · European Management Review · doi:10.1111/emre.12564 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
The Uncertainty Paradox: Perceived Threat Moderates the Effect of Uncertainty on Political Tolerance
Haas, I. J., & Cunningham, W. A. (2014) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12035 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Anxious Uncertainty and Reactive Approach Motivation (RAM) for Religious, Idealistic, and Lifestyle Extremes
McGregor, I., Prentice, M. S., & Nash, K. A. (2013) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.12028 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Perceived control qualifies the effects of threat on prejudice
Greenaway, K. H., Louis, W. R., Hornsey, M. J., & Jones, J. M. (2014) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12049 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Supervisor support: Does supervisor support buffer or exacerbate the adverse effects of supervisor undermining?
Nahum-Shani, I. B., Henderson, M. M., Lim, S., & Vinokur, A. D. (2014) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0035313 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Self-uncertainty and group identification: Consequences for social identity, group behavior, intergroup relations, and society
Hogg, M. A. (2021) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/bs.aesp.2021.04.004 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
The Frog in Kierkegaard’s Beer: Finding Meaning in the Threat‐Compensation Literature
Proulx, T., & Heine, S. J. (2010) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00304.x · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Uncertainty Increases the Reliance on Affect in Decisions
Rad, A. F., & Pham, M. T. (2016) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1093/jcr/ucw073 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Collective self-continuity, group identification and in-group defense
Smeekes, A., & Verkuyten, M. (2013) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2013.06.004 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
The Psychology of Fake News
Greifeneder, R., Jaffé, M. E., Newman, E. J., & Schwarz, N. (2020) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780429295379 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
The Malicious Effects of Existential Threat on Motivation to Protect the Natural Environment and the Role of Environmental Identity as a Moderator
Fritsche, I., & Häfner, K. (2012) · Environment and Behavior · doi:10.1177/0013916510397759 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
The psychological advantage of unfalsifiability: The appeal of untestable religious and political ideologies.
Friesen, J. P., Campbell, T. H., & Kay, A. C. (2014) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspp0000018 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Self-uncertainty and group identification: A meta-analysis
Choi, E. U., & Hogg, M. A. (2019) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430219846990 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Suspicion of motives predicts minorities' responses to positive feedback in interracial interactions
Major, B., Kunstman, J. W., Malta, B. D., Sawyer, P. J., Townsend, S. S. M., & Mendes, W. B. (2015) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2015.10.007 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Uncertainty Evokes Consumers’ Preference for Brands Incongruent with their Global–Local Citizenship Identity
Ng, S., Faraji‐Rad, A., & Batra, R. (2020) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/0022243720972956 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Fearing the uncertain: Self-uncertainty plays a role in mortality salience
Hohman, Z. P., & Hogg, M. (2015) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2014.11.007 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Understanding the Followers of Toxic Leaders: Toxic Illusio and Personal Uncertainty
Mergen, A., & Özbilgin, M. F. (2020) · International Journal of Management Reviews · doi:10.1111/ijmr.12240 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Controlling death by defending ingroups — Mediational insights into terror management and control restoration
Agroskin, D., & Jonas, E. (2013) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2013.05.014 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Between Conspiracy Beliefs, Ingroup Bias, and System Justification: How People Use Defense Strategies to Cope With the Threat of COVID-19
Jutzi, C. A., Willardt, R. R., Schmid, P. C., & Jonas, E. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.578586 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
When What You Have Is Who You Are: Self-Uncertainty Leads Individualists to See Themselves in Their Possessions
Morrison, K. R., & Johnson, C. S. (2011) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167211403158 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Fear and uncertainty in the face of death: The role of life after death in group identification
Hohman, Z. P., & Hogg, M. (2011) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.818 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Minority Perceptions of Whites’ Motives for Responding Without Prejudice
Major, B., Sawyer, P. J., & Kunstman, J. W. (2013) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167213475367 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
The Negative Implications of Being Tolerated: Tolerance From the Target’s Perspective
Verkuyten, M., Yogeeswaran, K., & Adelman, L. (2020) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691619897974 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
The Effect of Job Insecurity and Life Uncertainty on Everyday Consumptions and Broader Life Projects during COVID-19 Pandemic
Chirumbolo, A., Callea, A., & Urbini, F. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18105363 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Paradoxes in Organizational Change: The Crucial Role of Leaders’ Sensegiving
Sparr, J. L. (2018) · Journal of Change Management · doi:10.1080/14697017.2018.1446696 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
The strategic value of essentialism
Ryazanov, A. A., & Christenfeld, N. (2018) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.12370 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Reasons to believe: A systematic review and meta-analytic synthesis of the motives associated with conspiracy beliefsPreprint
Biddlestone, M., Green, R., Douglas, K. M., Azevedo, F., Sutton, R. M., & Cichocka, A. K. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/rxjqc · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Heroism and the Pursuit of a Meaningful Life
Kinsella, E. L., Igou, E. R., & Ritchie, T. D. (2017) · Journal of Humanistic Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022167817701002 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
De menselijke beslisser : Over de psychologie van keuze en gedrag
Prast, H. M., Thomas, C. A., Tiemeijer, W. L., & Regeringsbele, W. R. V. H. (2009) · Amsterdam University Press eBooks · doi:10.5117/9789089642028 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Intolerance of uncertainty, causal uncertainty, causal importance, self-concept clarity and their relations to generalized anxiety disorder
Kusec, A., Tallon, K., & Koerner, N. (2016) · Cognitive Behaviour Therapy · doi:10.1080/16506073.2016.1171391 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Groups can jeopardize your health: Identifying with unhealthy groups to reduce self-uncertainty
Hogg, M. A., Siegel, J. T., & Hohman, Z. P. (2011) · Self and Identity · doi:10.1080/15298868.2011.558762 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Self‐Uncertainty, Social Identity, and the Solace of Extremism
Hogg, M. A. (2011) · doi:10.1002/9781444344073.ch2 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Coping with COVID-19-induced threats to self
Kruglanski, A. W., Molinario, E., & Lemay, E. P. (2021) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430220982074 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
The closing of open minds: Need for closure moderates the impact of uncertainty salience on outgroup discrimination
Brizi, A., Mannetti, L., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2015) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12131 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Further to the right: Uncertainty, political polarization and the American “Tea Party” movement
Gaffney, A. M., Rast, D. E., Hackett, J. D., & Hogg, M. A. (2013) · Social Influence · doi:10.1080/15534510.2013.842495 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Toward Increasing Engagement in Substance Use Data Collection: Development of the Substance Abuse Research Assistant App and Protocol for a Microrandomized Trial Using Adolescents and Emerging Adults
Rabbi, M., Philyaw-Kotov, M. L., Cunningham, R. M., Bonar, E. E., Nahum-Shani, I. B., Klasnja, P., Walton, M. A., & Murphy, S. A. (2018) · JMIR Research Protocols · doi:10.2196/resprot.9850 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Abusive Supervision as a Response to Follower Hostility: A Moderated Mediation Model
Camps, J., Stouten, J., Euwema, M., & Cremer, D. D. (2018) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-018-4058-0 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Inequality in People's MindsPreprint
Phillips, L. T., Tepper, S. J., Goya‐Tocchetto, D., Davidai, S., Ordabayeva, N., Mirza, M. U., Szászi, B., Day, M. V., Hauser, O., & Jachimowicz, J. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/vawh9 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Effects of perceived stress on college students’ sleep quality: a moderated chain mediation model
Huang, Y., Yang, L., Liu, Y., & Zhang, S. (2024) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-024-01976-3 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Understanding victim participation in restorative practices: Looking for justice for oneself as well as for others
Camp, T. V. (2016) · European Journal of Criminology · doi:10.1177/1477370816682981 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Blaming for a Better Future
Bal, M., & van den Bos, K. (2012) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167212442970 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Feelings of uncertainty and powerlessness from Covid-19: Implications for advertising appeals in the restaurant industry
Yang, B., Hwang, Y., & Mattila, A. S. (2021) · International Journal of Hospitality Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.103017 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Beyond terror: Towards a paradigm shift in the study of threat and culture
Martin, L. L., & van den Bos, K. (2014) · European Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/10463283.2014.923144 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Dealing with uncertain situations
Alquist, J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2023) · Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2023.2282781 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Soft assurance: Coping with uncertainty through haptic sensations
van Horen, F., & Mussweiler, T. (2014) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2014.04.008 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
(In)consistency in the eye of the beholder: The roles of warmth, competence, and valence in lay perceptions of inconsistency
Brannon, S. M., Sacchi, D. L. M., & Gawronski, B. (2017) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2016.12.011 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
How is the life without unicorns? A within-individual study on the relationship between uncertainty and mental health indicators: The moderating role of neuroticism
Silva, A. J., & Silva, D. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.111462 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Identity Dispersion: Flexibility, Uncertainty, or Inconsistency?
Burke, P. J. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-41231-9_4 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
The complex relationship between conspiracy belief and the politics of social change
Federico, C. M. (2022) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101354 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Identifying Uncertainty States during Wayfinding in Indoor Environments: An EEG Classification Study
Zhu, B., Cruz-Garza, J. G., Yang, Q., Shoaran, M., & Kalantari, S. (2021) · Advanced Engineering Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.aei.2022.101718 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Approaching Relief: Compensatory Ideals Relieve Threat-Induced Anxiety by Promoting Approach-Motivated States
McGregor, I., Prentice, M. S., & Nash, K. A. (2012) · Social Cognition · doi:10.1521/soco.2012.30.6.689 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Uncertainty: History of the Concept
Wakeham, J. (2015) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.03175-5 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
To belong or not to belong: some self-conceptual and behavioural consequences of identity uncertainty / Pertenecer o no pertenecer: algunas consecuencias de la incertidumbre identitaria en el autoconcepto y en el comportamiento
Hogg, M. A. (2015) · International Journal of Social Psychology Revista de Psicología Social · doi:10.1080/02134748.2015.1065090 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Awe, ideological conviction, and perceptions of ideological opponents.
Stancato, D. M., & Keltner, D. J. (2019) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/emo0000665 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Existential uncertainty in health care: A concept analysis
Dwan, C., & Willig, C. (2021) · Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice · doi:10.1111/jep.13536 · Cited by 32 · see citing works

Meaning‐Making in Delayed‐Return Cultures: The Case of Personal Uncertainty
van den Bos, K., Martin, L. L., & Stapel, D. A. (2010) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00281.x · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Why Is Existential Uncertainty Distressing and Persistent? A Terror Management Perspective
Landau, M. J., Ryu, Y.-J., Greenberg, J., Chur, M., & Pyszczynski, T. (2025) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781003363385-13 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Coping with Life's One Certainty: A Terror Management Perspective on the Existentially Uncetain Self
Landau, M. J., Greenberg, J., & Kosloff, S. (2015) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203848753.ch11 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Fear of self-annihilation and existential uncertainty as predictors of worldview defense: Comparing terror management and uncertainty theories
Rubin, M. (2017) · The Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/00224545.2017.1341375 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Rubin (2018).pdf
Rubin, M. (2018) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.6024419

Authors: van den Bos, K.
Affiliations: Utrecht University
Venue: Psychological Inquiry
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Published: 2009-12-07
Volume: 20
Issue: 4
Pages: 197-217
ISSN: 1047-840X (ISSN-L)
1532-7965
DOI: 10.1080/10478400903333411
OpenAlex: W2100399482
Cited by: 395
References: 177
Citations by year: 2026: 34 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 19
FWCI: 23.07
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Psychological Inquiry (publishedVersion)
Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Keywords: personal uncertainty, cultural worldview, worldview defense, terror management theory, self-regulation, sensemaking, norm violation, cultural values

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Making Sense of Life: The Existential Self Trying to Deal with Personal Uncertainty

Abstract

Integrity signals

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Cites

Cited by

Related

Record

About these checks