The Relationship Between Uncertainty and Affect
Open accessAbstract
Uncertainty and affect are fundamental and interrelated aspects of the human condition. Uncertainty is often associated with negative affect, but in some circumstances, it is associated with positive affect. In this article, we review different explanations for the varying relationship between uncertainty and affect. We identify "mental simulation" as a key process that links uncertainty to affective states. We suggest that people have a propensity to simulate negative outcomes, which result in a propensity toward negative affective responses to uncertainty. We also propose the existence of several important moderators of this process, including context and individual differences such as uncertainty tolerance, as well as emotion regulation strategies. Finally, we highlight important knowledge gaps and promising areas for future research, both empirical and conceptual, to further elucidate the relationship between uncertainty and affect.
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Mental simulation of future events may be the mechanistic link between uncertainty (as a breeding ground of anxiety) and affective responses.
“Mental simulation of future events may be the mechanistic link between uncertainty (as a breeding ground of anxiety) and affective responses [136].”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [136]
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- Authors
- Anderson, E. C., Carleton, R. N., Diefenbach, M., & Han, P. K. J.
- Affiliations
- Tufts University (US)
- University of Regina (CA)
- Northwell Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Anderson, Eric C.
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2019-11-12
- Volume
- 10
- Pages
- 2504-2504
- ISSN
- 1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6861361
- OpenAlex
- W2984193447
- Cited by
- 332
- References
- 135
- Citations by year
- 2026: 58 · 2025: 48 · 2024: 59 · 2023: 68 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 19
- FWCI
- 19.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- oURspace (University of Regina) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
- Keywords
- uncertainty, affect, mental simulation, negative affect, positive affect, uncertainty tolerance, emotion regulation
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.
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