Intolerance of ambiguity and socio‐politico ideology: A multidimensional analysis

extremism theory, and (c) context theory. The subjects consisted of 195 Swedish high school students from five different high schools in greater Stockholm. The results showed no index convergence for the concepts of cognitive complexity and cognitive flexibility although general construct validity was found for the cognitive assessments instruments used. The results also revealed that four dimensions of sociopolitical ideology (general conservatism, racism, sexual repression, and authoritarian aggression) showed weak but statistically reliable relationships to cognitive flexibility and cognitive complexity from one cognitive assessment instrument. The nature of the results gave strong support to authoritarian personality theory and partial support to context theory. No support could be found for the extremism theory.

Intolerance of ambiguity in students entering medical school

This research aimed to measure the impact of the interaction between the patterns of spaced learning breaks (physical-electronic) and the cognitive style (ambiguity tolerance-ambiguity intolerance) on enhancing mathematics problem-solving skills for high school students in the State of Qatar. The research sample consisted of 60 male and female 12th-grade students from Qatar High School in Al-Kheesa. They were divided into four experimental groups based on their cognitive style and the pattern of spaced learning breaks provided to them, following the quasi-experimental research design. The measurement tools included the Cognitive Style Test (ambiguity tolerance – ambiguity intolerance) and the Mathematics Problem-Solving Skills Test. The results revealed a statistically significant positive interaction effect at the 0.05 level between the spaced learning break pattern (electronic vs. physical) and the cognitive style (ambiguity tolerance vs. ambiguity intolerance) for students in the four groups in the post-test of mathematics problem-solving skills. Additionally, the findings showed statistically significant differences at the 0.05 level in favor of the group that learned through the electronic spaced learning break pattern, as well as in favor of the students with ambiguity tolerance, in terms of their problem-solving skills in mathematics.

Objective. This study describes and analyzes the relationship between political ideology, the intolerance of ambiguity, homophobia and prejudice against transgender groups in a sample of university students and graduates from the city of Lima (N = 144). Method. A quantitative descriptive-correlational study was carried out. Spanish translated versions of RWA and SDO scales were used. Also were used an adapted version of MSTAT-II (Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale) and a version of the Modern Homophobia Scale (MHS) validated for university students in the city of Lima. Results. A direct relationship was found between RWA, SDO, intolerance of ambiguity, homophobia and prejudice against certain transgender groups (transvestites and transsexuals). A multiple linear regression model suggests that RWA and intolerance of ambiguity, combined, could be applicable predictors of homophobic attitudes. Conclusion. Based on the results, it is possible to verify that there is a relationship between psychological variables that express a conservative political ideology and prejudice towards homosexuals and transgender groups, to the extent they could be considered by the most conservative individuals as very ambiguous social stimuli.

At one medical school in 1982, 175 entering medical students indicated their medical specialty preferences, completed Budner's Intolerance of Ambiguity scale, and supplied demographic information. Most (91%) completed medical school, and their specialty choices at graduation from the National Resident Matching Program were recorded. Initial specialty preference was a poor predictor of later specialty choice (R2 = .11). The students' intolerance of ambiguity was not significantly associated with either their initial medical specialty preferences or their specialty choices at graduations. This finding supports previous studies showing that specialty preferences changed dramatically during medical school, but does not reveal any support for a relationship between students' initial intolerance of ambiguity and their specialty selections.

Spiritual Openness and Spiritual Support subscales of the Spiritual Experience Index were administered to 402 undergraduates along with the Identity Style Inventory, the Intolerance of Ambiguity Scale, and measures of religious interest and religious orientation. Spiritual Openness was associated with lower levels of Identity Commitment, Normative Identity Style, Intolerance of Ambiguity, an Intrinsic Religious Orientation, and religious interest, and also with higher levels of Quest, a Diffuse/Avoidant Identity Style, and an Extrinsic Orientation. Spiritual Support was associated with higher levels of Identity Commitment, both the Informational and the Normative Identity Styles, Religious Interest, and Intolerance of Ambiguity and with lower levels of Quest and a Diffuse/Avoidant Style. These data once again illustrated the challenges associated with efforts to understand religious maturity in that both Spiritual Openness and Spiritual Support predicted psychological weakness as well as strengths.

Lester (1967) suggested that one way of discovering the meaning of the semantic choice of college students on animism questionnaires in which nonliving objects are classified as living (Looft & Bartz, 1969) is to look for personality correlates of this behavior. Lester ( 1967 ) found no correlation between this behavior and the attitudes toward death of the students. In the present study, it was hypothesized that students who classify non-living objects as living might be more able to tolerate a less well-defined categorizing system and, thus, more able to tolerate ambiguity. Forty-nine female students filled out a questionnaire anonymously which contained an animism questionnaire (Dennis, 1953) and a scale to measure intolerance of ambiguity (Budner, 1962). Of the questionnaires, 6 were incomplete. One contained an obvious error of ignorance (a pearl was considered to be alive) and 3 classified oceans and rivers as alive because of their contents. These were eliminated, thus eliminating these two factors as explanations of why Ss give animistic responses. Of the remaining 39 Ss, 21 were animistic and 18 were not. The number of animistic responses given by the animistic Ss varied from 2 to 11, with a median of 9. The two groups of students did not differ in their intolerance for ambiguity (on a median test, x2 = 0.00, df = 1, not significant). No association was found between those giving more than the median number of animistic responses and those giving below the median number on their intolerance of ambiguity scores. One possible reason for the failure to find an association here is that Ss' range of scores on the intolerance of ambiguity scale was small (-43 to -12) while Budner's Ss had scores in the range -39 to f15. Aside from this possibility, the conclusion appears to be that there is no association between the two variables.

An exploratory investigation of several indices of cognitive functioning within a political domain and their relationship to socio-politico ideology is reported. The term cognitive functioning was sub-divided into three main components, cognitive complexity, cognitive flexibility, and intolerance of ambiguity, and two minor components, cognitive coping and predictive accuracy. The subjects were 46 university students. Correlations and factor analysis showed essentially two general factors of cognitive functioning, neither of which was related to socio-politico ideology. Socio-politico ideology, however, was related to the Budner Intolerance of Ambiguity Scale indicating that the greater one's conservatism, the greater one's intolerance of ambiguity. Socio-politico ideology was defined by the S4 Conservatism Scale recently developed for use within Scandinavian contexts.

The perception of 20 salient Australian and foreign political personalities was studied using a multidimensional scaling (MDS) procedure, with a view towards (a) establishing the dimensions used to differentiate between politicians, and (b) evaluating the relationship between the judges' personality, attitudinal and cognitive characteristics and their cognitive representation of politicians. Judgements were analysed by an overall MDS analysis, followed by six separate analyses of high and low scoring subjects on each of six measures (conservatism, New Left ideology, Machiavellianism, alienation, mental rigidity, and intolerance of ambiguity). Results indicated that three cognitive dimensions, political conservatism, likeability or evaluation, and rationality denned the perceptual space for politicians. Ideologically committed subjects, both conservatives and New Left, found the first dimension most salient in their judgements, while non-ideological subjects relied more on the second two dimensions. Scores on Machiavellianism and alienation did not significantly affect the perception of politicians. Judges who scored high on mental rigidity and intolerance of ambiguity were more likely to perceive politicians in terms of conservatism-radicalism. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of individual characteristics in political perception, and the extension of these methods to large-scale political surveys is proposed.

Emerging Adulthood is characterized by diverse life choices, instability and exploration. During adulthood, individuals deeply invest in love, work and worldviews, gradually developing a sense of purpose by making lasting commitments about life. The current study aims to investigate role of Neuroticism, Ambiguity Intolerance, Identity commitment on Meaning in life among emerging adults. The study was conducted on 106 participants enrolled as a students. Participants completed Neo FFI Scale - (Neuroticism), Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale -Short version (IUS-12), Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ) and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ). Pearson’s product-moment correlation revealed insignificant relationship between Neuroticism and Meaning in Life. The result was also insignificant for Ambiguity Intolerance and Meaning in life. The correlation analysis was found to be significant for Identity Commitment and Meaning in life. Further, regression analysis revealed that meaning in life significantly predicted Identity commitment (p <.001). Welch’s t-test revealed insignificant gender differences. These results will aid in understanding factors influencing meaning in life. Psychologists and other working professionals can use these findings to understand factors influencing and obstructing meaning in life. As meaning in life is related to resilience, better psychological health and more adaptive coping skills especially during the challenging developmental stage like emerging adulthood.

The article presents the results of an empirical study on ambiguity intolerance in the staff of educational organizations. The authors analyze the ambiguity intolerance index and its components: intolerance to novelty, intolerance to complexity and intolerance to insolubility. Using correlation analysis, the authors have found the relationship between the levels of educational organization staff ambiguity intolerance and organizational tension types and index. It has been shown that organizational tension has a significant impact on the level of educational organization staff ambiguity intolerance.

The relation between political orientation and cognitive style—as measured by intolerance of ambiguity—among Israeli university students was explored. A Hebrew translation of Budner's Intolerance of Ambiguity Scale was pretested with 39 students, a political orientation test was developed by the authors and pretested with 24 other students, and 159 students subsequently completed both measures. The data lend support to the rigidity-of-the-right hypothesis over the ideologue hypothesis. As an alternative, a value-pluralism model, in which the relation between cognitive style and political orientation depends on the values underlying the central issue that defines the left-right continuum, could account for the current findings and provide rich alternatives to either the rigidity-of-the-right or the ideologue hypothesis.

Budner's Intolerance of Ambiguity scale was given to 105 candidates taking part in 493 initial graduate recruitment interviews given by 103 interviewers. Intolerance of ambiguity was positively associated with candidates' level of anxiety before the interview but was negatively associated with their success in the interview. Candidates' anxiety and interview success were uncorrelated.

Two hundred and four female and eighty-seven male college students completed the Schroder and Streufert measure of cognitive complexity, Budner's Intolerance for Ambiguity Scale, and Bem's Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). It was hypothesized that subjects classified as androgynous and as cross-sexed would be more cognitively complex and more tolerant of ambiguity than sex-typed or undifferentiated subjects; and cognitive complexity and intolerance for ambiguity would be negatively correlated. The data indicated that male and female androgynous and cross-sexed subjects were more tolerant of ambiguity than sex-typed subjects and cognitively more complex than undifferentiated subjects. Cross-sexed subjects were more cognitively complex than sex-typed subjects. Cognitive complexity and intolerance for ambiguity were negatively correlated. The BSRI had differential power to predict cognitive complexity depending upon sex of subject.

The relative plausibilities of three theories concerning the relationship between sociopolitical ideology and certain personality variables were examined using 783 Swedish high school students: authoritarian personality theory, extremism theory, and context theory. The three theories were compared by examining degree of information search and interest in politics as a function of sociopolitical ideology and ideological homogeneity as a function of parental educational level. The main results showed that: (1) The relationships between degree of information search and political interest on the one hand, and sociopolitical ideology on the other, were primarily curvilinear indicating greater interest in politics and greater information search for both “left” and “right extremists” as compared to moderates on a number of ideological dimensions. (2) Subjects with well-educated parents were more ideologically heterogeneous than subjects with poorly educated parents. These differences were more marked for males than for females. The results were most consistent with context theory.