Uncertainty in the brain – The daily blog of behavioral and cognitive economics

Uncertainty is stressful, but here’s why we need to feel it

Think of the last time you felt uncertain about something important. Maybe you were concerned about the future of a relationship, about a confusing new medical symptom, or even about the future of the free world. As you likely experienced first-hand, the sense of not knowing, or of being unable to make a clear prediction, is often anxiety-provoking and attention-grabbing – and for that reason, many people think of uncertainty as an unpleasant state. But I hope to change how you think about uncertainty – and help you see that, if you never experienced it, you’d be ill equipped to cope in an uncertain world. It’s important to recognise that not all uncertainty is the same, and how people respond to uncertainty depends in part on the type of uncertainty they experience. ….[READ]