ABSTRACT
Uncertainty reduction theory is one of the major theories designed to explain human communication. In the context of the theory, uncertainty refers to the ability to accurately predict others’ attitudes, feelings, and how they will behave, and to the ability to explain others’ attitudes, feelings, and behavior (Berger & Calabrese, 1975). Un- certainty reduction, therefore, involves the creation of proactive predictions and retroactive explanations about others’ feelings, attitudes, and behavior. The major assumption of the theory is that an individual tries to reduce uncertainty about others when they can provide rewards, behave in a deviant fashion, or may be encountered in future interactions (Berger, 1979). Cross- cultural studies suggest that the theory can be generalized to initial interactions (Gudykunst & Nishida, 1984), as well as can communication in developed relationships across cultures (Gudykunst, Yang, & Nishida, 1985). Recent research also reveals that the theory can be extended to elucidate initial interactions between blacks (Gudykunst & Hammer, 1988), account for differences in intra- and interethnic communication (Gudykunst, 1986a), and explain communication between people from different cultures (Gudykunst, 1983a, 1985a, 1985c; Gudykunst, Chua, & Gray, 1987), including the influence of the language spoken (Gudykunst, Nishida, Koike, & Shiino, 1986).
