Causal Uncertainty and Psychological Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Accommodation (Secondary Control)

Abstract

Causal uncertainty about one's own outcomes (CU-Own) is associated with negative affect, depression, and a lack of perceived primary control. We predicted that accommodation, or secondary control, would act as a psychological buffer for high-CU-Own individuals, reducing negative affect and depression.We tested this hypothesis in two studies: one cross-sectional (Study 1) and one longitudinal (Study 2). Participants completed measures of CU-Own, harmony control, and depression in Study 1 and measures of CU-Own, harmony control, flexible goal adjustment, and negative affect in Study 2. Analyses reveal that the CU-Own-depression and CU-Own-negative affect associations were weaker when harmony control or flexible goal adjustment was high. Additional analyses in Studies 1 and 2 examined the roles played by primary control, locus of control, optimism, pessimism, and causal importance. Implications for the CU and accommodation literatures are discussed.

Positive affect increases secondary control among causally uncertain individuals

“…If individuals are able to accept and adjust themselves to their uncertainty and salient negative events, it should be easier for them to disengage from endless rumination about the causes of those events, and thereby escape the negative affect that can stem from unsuccessful uncertainty reduction efforts. Consistent with this idea, Tobin and Raymundo (2010) found that although higher levels of chronic causal uncertainty predicted increasing negative affect over time when secondary control was low, this was not the case when secondary control was high.…”

“…Prior research has focused primarily on affect as an outcome of secondary control (Chipperfield et al, 2012;Morling & Evered, 2006;Tobin & Raymundo, 2010). Of interest in the current research is whether affect can influence secondary control.…”

“…Furthermore, this effect should be stronger for individuals with high levels of chronic causal uncertainty, as secondary control would help them disengage from efforts to improve their understanding which could otherwise lead to negative affect (Tobin & Raymundo, 2010). We tested these hypotheses in two studies.…”

“…Similarly, Bailis, Chipperfield, and Perry (2005) found that positive social comparisons, a secondary control strategy, predicted better health only when individuals were low in primary control. Tobin and Raymundo (2010) found that secondary control is particularly beneficial for individuals who are high in chronic causal uncertainty. Chronic causal uncertainty refers to ongoing doubts about one's ability to understand why positive and negative events happen to the self and others (Weary & Edwards, 1996;Weary, Tobin, & Edwards, 2010).…”

Psychological Effects of Uncertainty

“…Belirsizliğin özel bir durumunu inceleyen nedensel belirsizlik kuramı (Causal Uncertainty Theory) (Weary ve Edwards, 1994, 1996 kişilerin neden sonuç ilişkisini atfedebilme becerisinden şüphe etmesi ile ilgilenmektedir. Çalışmaların sonuçlarına göre nedensel belirsizlik ile olumsuz duygu durumu (Tobin ve Raymundo, 2010), depresyon (Weary ve Edwards, 1994;1996), nörotiklik (Edwards, Weary ve Reich, 1998) ve onay arama ihtiyacı (Jacobson ve Weary, 1999;Jacobson, 2007) (Hogg, 2009;Hogg ve Abrams, 1993). Gruplar kişiye hem kendini ve iç grup üyelerini tanımlaması hem de kendini dış grup üyelerinden ayrıştırması için fırsat sunar (Hogg, 2009).…”