Uncertainty-reducing behavior is omnipresent, yet not many people exhibit the “right” kind of behavior.

1. PSYCHOLOGY
Uncertainty-Reducing Behavior: What
It Is and How To Deal With It The
“Right” Way
Seeing reality from a di erent perspective
Lorenz Duremdes, Polymath
Nov 29 · 5 min read

3. Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
Uncertainty-reducing behavior is omnipresent, yet not many people exhibit
the “right” kind of behavior.
want to propose a very basic, simple, and unifying way of looking at
behavior and psychology.
Simply said, every behavior we show either increases or reduces
uncertainty. Or if you prefer the other way around: reduces or increases
certainty.
First of all, what can we regard as “uncertainty”?
What is“uncertainty”?
I

4. Uncertainty can be explained in many ways, but I prefer these two
definitions:
1. Uncertainty means an increase of local entropy
2. Uncertainty means getting further away from your goal, or at least,
experience that feeling
For practicability and simplicity issues, we will go for the second definition.
Uncertainty can be caused and experienced both in the long-term and
short-term. We will first discuss short-term uncertainty as well as its
differences with long-term uncertainty.
Defining short-term uncertainty: irrational
Short-term uncertainty is usually caused by something highly emotional e.g.
anger or anxiety. So why do we call this “short-term”? Because it can change
rapidly. Our emotions and feelings are not rational, it is very well possible to
experience the same situation, have the same life goals, yet produce
different emotions and feelings.
As emotions become high, the neural activity decreases in the neocortex, a
brain region responsible for higher-order thinking and long-term planning.
The more primitive brain regions, on the other hand, don’t really “care” that

5. much about the future.. All it cares about is surviving in the present, hence
short-term uncertainty.
Short-term, unlike long-term uncertainty, is less dependable on the rational
goals you have set.
Defining long-term uncertainty: rational
Long-term uncertainty is a lot more dependent on the life goals you have
put up. Again, our definition of uncertainty is “getting further away from
your goal”.
Things like being rejected from a job application could belong to long-term
uncertainty. Or a famous example: an existential crisis.
Uncertainty-reducing behavior: short-term and
irrational
As the name suggests, uncertainty-reducing behavior is behavior with the
aim of reducing uncertainty, which can be both in the short-term and long-
term.
When thinking of uncertainty-reducing behavior, you should think and
imagine it as simple as possible. Why? Because it’s really omnipresent. Let’s

6. review some examples showing its simplicity.
Being angry is an example of uncertainty-reducing behavior. Or how about
your dog barking? Same thing with putting make-up on your face.
Remember, things can be both rational and irrational, so even if being
angry actually does increase uncertainty (rather than reducing it), such
behavior is simply programmed in us, together with nurture of course.
Another characteristic of short-term uncertainty-reducing behavior is that
its aim is to reduce uncertainty in the short-term, not long-term.
This means that being angry may give you (subconsciously) a feeling that
uncertainty is being reduced, for the time being, but, again, your more
primitive brain regions don’t care that much about the future i.e. long-term.
In other words, your anger might have caused a feeling of control in the
short-term but ruined a relationship with someone in the long-term.
Uncertainty-reducing behavior: long-term and
rational
Again, we should think as simple as possible. Examples of long-term
uncertainty-reducing behavior are saving money for the future, learning
new stuff, building your network, friendships, etc.

7. This type, then, is much more dependent on the life goals you have put up.
Now, you might say that some people are putting up long-term goals that
are far from rational, goals that are detrimental to themselves and/or
humanity. I, however, like to define “rational” with the following quote:
“The pendulum of the mind alternates between sense and nonsense, not
between right and wrong.” — Carl Jung
We can easily imagine how certain uncertainty-reducing behaviors do make
“sense”, but aren’t exactly “right”. How can we, then, develop more “right”
ways of uncertainty-reducing behaviors both in the short-term and long-
term?
Dealing with short-term uncertainty the“right” way
First of all, what can we consider as “dealing with short-term uncertainty
the wrong way?” Although subjective, I believe becoming angry,
disrespecting the other, manipulating the other, etc. can be considered
wrong.
Again, short-term uncertainty is usually caused by a decrease of activity in
the neocortex, because of heightened emotions. This reduces higher-order
thinking and long-term planning.

8. The most straightforward way to deal with short-term uncertainty, then, is
to remain as calm as possible. How can one achieve that? By distracting
yourself from whatever causes heightened emotions.
In mindfulness, you learn that you can achieve that by focusing on your
breath. The best way to deal with it righteously is by removing yourself from
the person or environment for a while. This has to do with the fact that you
aren’t as much in control as you like to believe, see:
Why Willpower Doesn’t Work
And what to do about it
medium.com
Dealing with long-term uncertainty the“right” way
So this one is a lot more complicated of course because it depends on your
life goals and your philosophy behind them.
The first most obvious thing to deal with long-term uncertainty the right
way is to not turn it into a short-term uncertainty i.e. showing heightened
emotions, which reduces high-order thinking, and so on.

9. Second, we should try to define what we mean by “dealing with long-term
uncertainty the wrong way”. I guess one way to deal with it that is wrong, is
when you try to do things that are detrimental to others.
Of course, you should be egotistical from time to time, but only to a certain
extent. Maybe the following quote makes that concept more clear:
“Some people care about others because they care about themselves. Others
care about themselves because they care about others.”
Essentially, you are being egotistical in the short-term, in order to give more
to others in the long-term. Here we have found another way to deal with
long-term uncertainty the wrong way: Sacrificing the future for a better
present.
The right way, then, is the opposite: Sacrificing the present for a better
future.
Another way to deal with it the right way is by ensuring that you satisfy the
lower hierarchies of the pyramid of Maslow well enough, while
simultaneously ensuring that you keep your focus on the higher hierarchies
i.e. self-actualization. I have designed a special article for this concept:
Why You Need To Align Your Goals According To

10. Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs
And how to make your goals and habits stick
medium.com
In short, the higher your focus is placed (e.g. self-actualization), the more
long-term your goal probably is.
Practice questions
1. Look around you, yourself, other people, your dog or cat. What behavior
do they show that could constitute “uncertainty-reducing behavior” and
what causes that heightened uncertainty?
2. How do you deal with both short-term and long-term uncertainty? Can
you find ways that are more effective and “right”?
3. What uncertainty-reducing behavior are you or anyone else showing
that you consider “wrong”?
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See this to see why I write:
https://lorenzduremdes.wordpress.com/2019/10/08/introd…
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