Intolerance Of Ambiguity

Ambiguity results from the absence of adequate information due to the complexity, newness, or insolubility of a specific situation (Budner, 1962). McLain (1993, p. 183) refers to ambiguity as ‘perceived insufficiency of information regarding a particular stimulus or context’. Tolerance of ambiguity is defined as an inclination to comprehend contradictory, vague, unstructured, and deficient information (Adorno, Frenkel, Levinson & Sanford, 1950). At the same time, from McLain’s viewpoint (1993, p.184) tolerance is ‘begrudging acceptance’ while ‘intolerance suggests rejection’ and he adds that tolerance ‘extends along a continuum from rejection to attraction’. Therefore, tolerance means approving of vague situations whereas intolerance means identifying ambiguity as sources of problem (Norton, 1975). …show more content…
Tolerance of ambiguity is referred to as a personality trait in the field of psychology (Liu, 2015). Intolerance of ambiguity is characterized by Frenkel-Brunswik (1949) as hazard selection of early solution to a problem, rejecting the presence of both good and bad characteristics in one person, having a black-and-white view toward life, sticking to fixed characteristics and categories, and preferring stability in one’s work. Intolerant individuals regard ambiguous conditions as threatening and dangerous while tolerant individuals perceive vague situations as interesting and exploratory (Furnham, 1994). Tolerant people are better at handling ambiguous situations or working at larger scale conditions, while intolerant people evade contradictory or unstructured events (MacDonald,