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Cited by 395Death Anxiety and Social ExclusionCultural Differences and ValuesSocial and Intergroup Psychology

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 173 of the 177 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

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

van den Bos, Kees·2009·Psychological Inquiry
DOI 10.1080/10478400903333411
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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.

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Crossref · 10.1080/10478400903333411

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173 of 173 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Show all 177 references

Research works printed but not linked: 13

  1. 10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497 · DOI · Paper page
  2. Becker , E. 1973 . The denial of death , New York : Free Press .
  3. Camus , A. 1942 . Le mythe de Sisyphe (The Sisyphus myth) , Paris : Gallimard .
  4. Hofstede , G. 2001 . Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations, , 2nd ed. , Thousand Oaks , CA : Sage Publications .
  5. Lakoff , G. and Johnson , M. 1980 . Metaphors we life by , Chicago : University of Chicago Press .
  6. Maas , M. and Van den Bos , K. 2009a . Effects of voice procedures in the face of real personal uncertainty Manuscript submitted for publication
  7. Reinhard , M.-A. , Van den Bos , K. and Müller , P. A. 2009 . The uncertain self is good at detecting lies: The influence of personal uncertainty on the process of deception detection Manuscript submitted for publication
  8. Sartre , J.-P. 1939 . Le mur , Paris : Gallimard .
  9. Sorrentino , R. M. and Roney , C. J. R. 1999 . The uncertain mind , New York : Psychology Press .
  10. Stapel , D. A. Culture breeds control and that is why people like it better than themselves . Paper presented at the tenth meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology . Tampa , Florida . February .
  11. 10.1037/0022-3514.81.6.973 · DOI
  12. Umphress , E. , Barsky , A. , See , K. E. , Gogus , C. , Run Ren , L. and Simmons , A. 2009 . Be careful what you ask for: Goal setting, procedural justice, and ethical behavior at work Manuscript submitted for publication
  13. Van den Bos , K. , Brockner , J. , Stein , J. H. , Steiner , D. D. , Van Yperen , N. W. and Dekker , D. M. 2009 . On the psychology of voice and performance capabilities: Competitive achievement, nurturing the less capable, and cross-cultural implications Manuscript submitted for publication

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Metadata

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

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