ABSTRACT
Feelings of uncertainty are a part of everyday life that we generally seek to eradicate. How we reduce uncertainty is largely influenced by how we experience it. Feelings of uncertainty can differ in strength, persistence and focus, as well as the extent to which the uncertainty is experienced as an exhilarating challenge for which we possess the resources to resolve or an anxiety-ridden threat that we are ill-equipped to extinguish. It is the latter type of uncertainty that creates insecurity and has important ramifications for intragroup processes and intergroup relations. In this chapter, we focus on how people and society react to chronic and overwhelming uncertainty that is grounded in or reflects on who we feel we are in the world – our social identities. We build on uncertainty-identity theory and argue that feelings of self-uncertainty motivate group identification and that when uncertainty is experienced as unsolvable and manifests in deep insecurity, it generates social identity dynamics that have dark consequences for individuals and collectives. Insecure people often seek solace in distinctive groups that are homogeneous, ethnocentric, and have simple, unambiguous identities. Such groups suppress dissent and vilify outgroups and typically have autocratic leaders who promulgate unambiguous identity messages. Populism prevails, and factions polarize into distinctive identity-defined enclaves. Autocracy and ethno-nationalism triumph over democratic principles, and conspiracy theories and identity silos thrive. We end by suggesting circumstances that might help curtail people’s seemingly extreme and unsolvable insecurities so that they do not turn to extreme group identities and world views.
