ABSTRACT
U ncertainty is an intrinsic part of forming relationships (Berger & Calabrese, 1975; Sunna-frank, 1986a). Acquaintances grapple with questions about their own behavior (e.g., “How should I respond?”), their partner’s behavior (e.g., “Why did he say that?”), and the nature of the relationship itself (e.g., “What is the status of this relationship?”). Uncertainty during the early stages of relationship development merits study for two reasons. First, uncertainty is a powerful predictor of people’s verbal and nonverbal communication behavior (Afifi & Burgoon, 1998; Berger & Gudykunst, 1991; Knobloch, 2006). Second, uncertainty shares a close connection with dyadic well-being. Individuals experiencing uncertainty tend to evaluate their partner more negatively (Gudykunst, Yang, & Nishida, 1985; Kellermann & Reynolds, 1990; Solomon & Knobloch, 2004), experience more negative emotion (Afifi & Reichert, 1996; Knobloch, Miller, & Carpenter, 2007; Theiss & Solomon, 2006a), and perceive their relationship to be more turbulent (Knobloch, 2007b). Hence, uncertainty during acquaintance is important to understand because it predicts both the behavior of individuals and the health of relationships.
