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).…

There was no interaction effect observed between structural priming and regions on reading time, F1 (2, 22) = 0.63, ns, η2p = .054; F2 (2, 48) = 1.57, ns, η2p = .061. Reading times were not significantly different at the target word between relevant and irrelevant structural primes, t (24) = 1.62, ns. Reading times were not significantly different at the word immediately after the ambiguous word, t (24) = 0.34, ns. Reading times were not significantly different at the second word following the…

instead of digging deeper and understanding the real meaning. Apparently first impression is the best impression. And therefore, this ends up creating ambiguity and imperfection, which generally leads to failure. Similar to this issue, the authors of “The Corner of the Eye” and “When We Learn From Failure (and When We Don’t)”, Lewis Thomas and Gretchen Gavett, deals with the issues of human ambiguity and failures. While Thomas discusses about the central roles that ambiguity and human…

Today, ambiguity can be seen in many pieces of well-known literature, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Ambiguous statements and phrases are meant to leave imagination to the reader. To use ambiguity in literature is not meant to confuse, but rather it is for the reader to visualize what he or she believes it to be. To use clarity in literature, on the other hand, does not necessarily leave a less important message but a less deep…

A black and white, a left and right, and a right and a wrong. While all three of these phrases seem to make sense, including their obvious cut and dry nature, our society is so focused on one or the other that we forget about the in between. A grey, a center, and a human being. Toni Morrison explores the ambiguity of our life in her novel Beloved, letting the reader forgo their idea of evil and goodness, for a more vague and less constructed moral standing. The physical and spiritual world are…

Many characters throughout some of the most famous and brilliant novels cannot be identified as the “good guy” or the “bad guy.” These characters intentions and actions create this confusion, making them morally ambiguous. An example of this moral ambiguity can be found in The Road by Cormac McCarthy with the use diction. The father is the character at play, in which his decisions are controversial. The father’s character causes doubt in his morals when he justifies why he has kept his son…

Morally ambiguous characters are very common. From the classic works of literature, such as Shakespeare’s Othello, to modern characters, such as Marvel superheroes, morally ambiguous characters are used by writers to make a point and to spark an idea in the minds of their audience. Two examples of these types of characters are Iago from Othello and Henry Higgins from Pygmalion. Both characters played pivotal roles in their perspective plays. Despite being static characters, both played important…

title, is by having relatable characters to the reader’s life. If the reader cannot relate to the characters in daily life, the book is not a timeless classic, because books are supposed to provide a real life scenario. It should also have ambiguity, as without that, the reader is getting all the information from the text, and the reader is not thinking. Only if the reader thinks, he or she can relate to the novel. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird should not be considered a timeless classic…

Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” is a poem that contradicts itself as a whole many times. When reading it, there are two contrasting ideas that can be visualized. He uses certain words that are playful while also using words that have a clearly negative connotation to tell this story between a father and son. Other times, there is ambiguity in the phrases he chooses. Even the rhythm of the poem can have different meanings to different people. It all depends on which words stand out to the reader.…

impactful effect on the audience. Moral ambiguity is defined as the vagueness of a clear moral right and wrong while making a decision. Because morals are based on an individual’s upbringing and past, morals are often subjective, so this leads to differences in whether a decision can be considered ethically right or wrong. This creates situations where right or wrong answer do not exist. Moral ambiguity exists in the novel The Road through the questionable acts that the characters take in…