From Pervasive Ambiguity to a Definition of the Situation

This paper presents a conceptual and empirical analysis of one major type of ambiguity. Pervasive ambiguity is discussed as both a cognitive and an affective problem which occurs when individuals or collectives are unable to define a social situation. The research reported here involved an attempt to create an ambiguity-producing situation so that the adaptive behavior of persons experiencing pervasive ambiguity could be observed. Three hypotheses were tested and confirmed by the research findings: (1) The most common pattern of adaptation to ambiguity is a cyclical shifting back and forth between information seeking and tension reduction behavior; (2) Persons who encounter ambiguity-producing situations select interaction partners on the basis of perceived similarity; and (3) Overt consensual acceptance of a proposed definition of the situation is a prerequisite to ambiguity resolution.