Affective forecasting during a horror attraction: Insights into Intolerance of Uncertainty

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Affective Science
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) is a personality trait characterized by discomfort with ambiguity.
• Understanding how IU affects emotional forecasting is crucial for psychopathology research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of Intolerance of Uncertainty on affective expectations and forecasting accuracy.
• To examine the relationship between IU and anticipated vs. actual emotional experiences in an uncertain environment.

Main Methods:

• A field study was conducted at a horror attraction with 1029 participants.
• Participants completed measures of forecasted and actual affect (negative, positive, anxiety-related) and confidence in forecasts.
• Intolerance of Uncertainty was assessed to correlate with affective forecasting biases.

Main Results:

• Individuals high in IU anticipated and experienced less positive affect, more anxiety-related affect, and more negative affect.
• Intolerance of Uncertainty predicted overestimation bias in forecasting negative affect.
• No significant bias was found for positive or anxiety-related affect forecasts.

Conclusions:

• Intolerance of Uncertainty is associated with altered affective forecasting, particularly overestimating negative emotional outcomes.
• Findings suggest IU's role in affective forecasting has implications for transdiagnostic models of psychopathology.
• This research highlights potential targets for therapeutic interventions in anxiety and mood disorders.