Universität zu Köln

Van Horen, Femke and Mussweiler, Thomas (2014). Soft assurance: Coping with uncertainty through haptic sensations. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol., 54. S. 73 - 81. SAN DIEGO: ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE. ISSN 1096-0465

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Abstract

Uncertainty is an inescapable element of human life. But how do people deal with it? To date, most research has focused on the cognitive strategies people adopt to do so. In four experiments we examine, whether people may also use an alternative experiential route to cope with uncertainty. We demonstrate that (1) when faced with uncertainty, people seek soft haptic sensations (Experiments 1 and 2) and (2) that doing so is functional (Experiments 3 and 4). More specifically, we show that people shift their preference to objects with soft (i.e., soft-grip pen, soft candy) rather than hard properties (i.e., hard-grip pen, hard candy) when feeling uncertain. Furthermore, we show that holding something soft (i.e., a soft-grip pen, a soft cloth) as compared to something hard (i.e., a hard-grip pen, a hard cloth) reduces uncertainty on a subsequent ambiguous task and helps to shield against uncertainty in daily life by increasing tolerance toward uncertainty. Overall, this research reveals that humans may use their oldest and most fundamental sense touch as a basic experiential device to cope with uncertainty. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Van Horen, Femke UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Mussweiler, Thomas UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-431792
DOI:	10.1016/j.jesp.2014.04.008
Journal or Publication Title:	J. Exp. Soc. Psychol.
Volume:	54
Page Range:	S. 73 - 81
Date:	2014
Publisher:	ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
Place of Publication:	SAN DIEGO
ISSN:	1096-0465
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language SOCIAL EXCLUSION; INTOLERANCE; MANAGEMENT; SALIENCE; VERSION; IMPACT; ORDER; TOUCH; MIND Multiple languages Psychology, Social Multiple languages
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/43179