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Worrying in the Lab: Does Intolerance of Uncertainty Have Predictive Value?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2012

Gwendolijn Olivia de Bruin*
Affiliation:
Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. [email protected]
Eric Rassin
Affiliation:
Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Peter Muris
Affiliation:
Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
*
*Address for correspondence: Gwendolijn de Bruin, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Abstract

The present article describes two experimental studies investigating whether individual differences in intolerance of uncertainty (IU) predict worry in response to uncertain situations. In both studies, undergraduate students completed the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS; Freeston, Rheaume, Letarte, Dugas, & Ladouceur, 1994) and then completed an intelligence task, which was thought to elicit feelings of uncertainty. After completing the task, state worry was measured. Results of both studies showed that there were positive correlations between IUS scores and task-related state worry. Furthermore, Study 2 showed that individual differences in IU only were predictive of worry in a situation that elicits low to medium levels of uncertainty, and not in a situation high in uncertainty. Thus, only under certain conditions IU-related personality characteristics seem to be predictive of worrisome thoughts.

Type
Standard Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

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