Beyond self-report: a multi-method approach to characterising intolerance of uncertainty

我们每天都面临着未来事件结果的不确定性。在一些不确定的情况下，我们可能会权衡各种选择，预测结果，做出明智的选择，而在其他不确定的情况下，我们几乎没有信息来做出判断。对不确定性的过度压力在焦虑症中很常见。不确定性不耐受（IU）一词是指个体对不确定性的预期和反应差异，IU高的人对不确定性的反应比IU低的人更消极。最近的研究表明，了解IU可能对焦虑症的诊断和治疗很重要。尽管最近取得了这些进展，但对于低IU和高IU个体对不确定性的处理究竟有何不同，以及这与焦虑有何关系，人们知之甚少。拟议的研究计划将描述当面对不确定性时，IU高的个体与IU低的个体有何不同。将要解决的一些问题是：1。IU水平较高的个体是否比IU水平较低的个体有更宽的阈值来检测环境中的不确定性？2. 是否只有当不确定性与坏事发生的可能性有关或所有不确定性都令人厌恶时，高IU个体与低IU个体才会有所不同？3. 高IU个体与低IU个体应对不确定性的方式不同吗？他们是寻求更多的信息来加强某些确定性，还是完全避免不确定的情况？为了解决这些问题，这项研究将利用最先进的技术，这将使我们能够测量什么吸引了人们的注意力，以及他们在完成模拟不确定情况的计算机任务时的感受。这项研究对焦虑理论具有重要意义，重要的是，通过更好地理解IU的本质及其与焦虑的关系，这项研究将帮助我们设计干预和治疗焦虑症患者的新方法。这将改善有关人民的生活质量，并通过减少长期精神健康问题的经济负担为社会带来益处。

On a daily basis we are confronted with uncertainty about the outcome of future events. In some uncertain situations we may be able to weigh up the options, predict the outcome, and make an informed choice, whilst in other uncertain situations we have very little information with which to make a judgement. Excessive stress in response to uncertainty is common in anxiety disorders. The term Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) refers to individual differences in anticipating and reacting to uncertainty, with those high in IU having a more negative reaction to uncertainty than those low in IU. Recent work suggests that understanding IU may be important for the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders. Despite these recent advances, very little is understood about exactly how the processing of uncertainty differs in individuals who are low and high in IU, and how this is related to anxiety. The proposed programme of research will characterise how individuals high in IU differ from those low in IU when faced with uncertainty. Some of the questions that will be addressed are: 1. Do individuals with higher levels of IU have a broader threshold for detecting uncertainty in their environment than individuals low in IU? 2. Do individuals high in IU differ from those low in IU only when the uncertainty is associated with the potential for something bad to happen or is all uncertainty aversive? 3. Do individuals high in IU cope with uncertainty differently to those low in IU? Do they seek more information to enforce some certainty, or do they avoid uncertain situations altogether? To address these questions, the research will make use of state of the art technologies which will allow us to measure what captures people's attention and how they feel whilst they complete computer based tasks that emulate uncertain situations. This research has important implications for theories of anxiety and, importantly, by better understanding the nature of IU and how it is associated with anxiety, the research will help us to design new ways of intervening and treating people with anxiety disorders. This would improve the quality of life of the people in question and provide a benefit to society by decreasing the economic burden of long-term mental health problems.