International Journal of Behavioral

Development
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Uncertainty orientation in Chinese children: Relations with school and psychological adjustment
Zhengyan Wang, Xinyin Chen, Richard Sorrentino and Andrew C. H. Szeto
International Journal of Behavioral Development 2008; 32; 137
DOI: 10.1177/0165025407087212
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International Journal of Behavioral Development

2008, 32 (2), 137144

2008 The International Society for the

Study of Behavioural Development

http://www.sagepublications.com

DOI: 10.1177/0165025407087212

Uncertainty orientation in Chinese children: Relations with school and

psychological adjustment
Zhengyan Wang
Capital Normal University, Beijing, China

Xinyin Chen, Richard Sorrentino,

and Andrew C.H. Szeto
University of Western Ontario, Canada

The purpose of this study was to examine uncertainty orientation and its relations with school and
psychological adjustment in Chinese children. A sample of elementary school children in P.R. China,
aged 10 to 12 years, participated in the study. Data concerning uncertainty orientation, academic
performance and socio-emotional adjustment were obtained from multiple sources including projective assessments, teacher ratings and self-reports. It was found that children in grade 6 had higher
scores on uncertainty orientation than those in grades 4 and 5. Uncertainty orientation was positively associated with school-related competence, academic achievement and self-perceptions of
competence, and negatively associated with learning problems and loneliness. The results suggest
that uncertainty orientation is an adaptive characteristic in Chinese children.
Keywords: Chinese children; cultural context; social and psychological adjustment; uncertainty
orientation

The theory of uncertainty orientation (Sorrentino, Hodson, &

Huber, 2001; Sorrentino & Roney, 2000) indicates that uncertainty or certainty orientation is an important personal
characteristic that may have significant implications for
individual social and cognitive functioning. Whereas some
people tend to maintain clarity by adhering to what is already
known, others are motivated to seek clarity through mastery
of uncertainty. Certainty-oriented individuals often choose
situations of certainty as opposed to situations that are
characterized by new and uncertain stimuli. In contrast,
uncertainty-oriented persons have a strong desire to explore
new things about self and the world and to resolve the uncertainty. In an initial study of uncertainty orientation,
Sorrentino and Hewitt (1984) found that uncertainty-oriented
people chose diagnostic items on a test that revealed new and
uncertain information about the self, whereas certaintyoriented people preferred nondiagnostic items that revealed
only information that the participant knew already. Uncertainty or certainty orientation has been considered a selfregulatory style that is relevant to strategies of coping with
uncertain or certain situations (Sorrentino & Roney, 2000).
Individual differences in uncertainty or certainty orientation
have been found to be related to cognitive functioning as
measured by performance on Piagetian cognitive tasks and
assessment of moral judgment and reasoning (Sorrentino,
Raynor, Zubek, & Short, 1990). Specifically, since uncertainty-oriented people view changes positively and focus on
what can be learned, they are best equipped to deal with an
uncertain and changing world. They tend to approach the
uncertainty and engage in careful information processing

(Hodson & Sorrentino, 2001). As a result, uncertaintyoriented individuals may have extensive opportunities to learn
relatively sophisticated social and cognitive skills in problemsolving. Certainty-oriented individuals, however, typically
circumvent uncertainty, either by choosing environments with
limited uncertainty or by using judgment shortcuts or heuristics as substitutes for the direct confrontation and processing
of new information (Hodson & Sorrentino, 2001; Sorrentino
et al., 2001). These individuals gravitate to the known and the
familiar, preferring nondiagnostic over diagnostic information,
maintaining what is already known of the self and the environment rather than exploring the potential implications of
uncertainty (Sorrentino & Roney, 2000). According to the
developmental theories (e.g., Bandura, 1977; Piaget, 1932;
Vygotsky, 1987), the higher social and psychological functioning is developed based on the experience in continuous exploration of the new environment. As such, it is conceivable that
certainty-orientation may undermine the development of
social and cognitive competencies (Sorrentino et al., 1990).
An issue in the study of uncertainty orientation is how it is
associated with and distinct from other personality and motivation constructs (see Sorrentino, Hanna, & Roney, 1992 for
a review). Researchers have examined this issue extensively.
Other than its moderate correlation with the measure of
openness (r = .43) from the Big 5 (Hodson & Sorrentino,
1999), uncertainty orientation has not been found to have
reliable associations with various measures such as dogmatism,
self-esteem, repressionsensitization, need for cognition, need
for structure, or need for closure. This lack of association is
likely due to the fact that the characteristics such as need for

Correspondence should be addressed to Zhengyan Wang, Department

of Psychology, The Capital Normal University, Beijing, P.R. China;
e-mail: hwzy@263.net or Xinyin Chen, Department of Psychology,
University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2;
e-mail: xchen@uwo.ca

The research described herein was supported by grants from the

Beijing Learning and Cognitive Laboratory and the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and by a Scholars
Award from the William T. Grant Foundation. We are grateful to the
children and teachers for their participation.

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WANG ET AL. / UNCERTAINTY ORIENTATION

cognition, need for closure, novelty-seeking and extraversion

are static (Burger, 1989; Kruglanski, 1989; Petty & Cacioppo,
1986), whereas uncertainty orientation is dynamic. A person
high in the need for cognition, for example, always likes to
think, more or less. Uncertainty-oriented people, however,
engage in systematic processing of information only when
uncertainty needs to be resolved, and certainty-oriented
people engage in systematic processing only when certainty
needs to be maintained (see Hodson & Sorrentino, 2001;
Shuper & Sorrentino, 2004; Sorrentino, Bobocel, Gitta, Olson
& Hewitt, 1988). Similarly, although people high in need for
closure or control always have this need, uncertainty- or certaintyoriented people only demonstrate their needs when they are
made to feel uncertain or certain (see Walker & Sorrentino,
2000). The measures of uncertainty and nAchievement are
assumed to be independent, which is in fact found in most
studies (see Sorrentino & Roney, 2000). Occasionally,
however, there is a small but significant correlation between
the two (e.g., Roney & Sorrentino, 1995, Study 3; Sorrentino,
Hewitt, & Raso-Knott, 1992). This is likely due to a method
variance as both measures are derived from the same sentence
completion task (see Method section). Indeed, when the
variance of nAchievement scores was removed, the power of
the residualized uncertainty scores in predicting such behaviors as risk preference (Sorrentino et al., 1992) and arithmetic
performance (Roney & Sorrentino, 1995) was enhanced rather
than weakened. Therefore, it may be reasonable to argue that
certainty- versus uncertainty-orientation represents a distinct
aspect of self-regulatory functioning that is of significance for
social and psychological adjustment (e.g., Sorrentino et al.,
1992).
Almost all studies concerning uncertainty orientation have
been conducted with adults. This is unfortunate because information on uncertainty orientation in children and adolescents
would help us understand the nature and function of
uncertainty orientation from a developmental perspective.
Moreover, researchers have examined this phenomenon
mainly in Western, particularly North American, cultures. It is
largely unknown whether the Western-based conceptualization
of uncertainty orientation can be generalized to other cultures.
As many countries are experiencing social and economic
reforms and globalization is emphasized, the modern era has
evolved into an increasingly uncertain time. Consequently,
how to react and resolve uncertain and challenging situations
has become a significant task for individuals including children
and adults in the world. The theory of uncertainty orientation
(Sorrentino & Roney, 2000; Sorrentino & Short, 1986) may
provide a useful framework for the study of motivational and
self-regulatory processes that are involved in individual social
and behavioral adjustment in changing circumstances. Thus, it
is important to investigate childrens uncertainty orientation
and its significance for social and psychological adaptation in
non-Western cultures. For example, how is uncertainty or
certainty orientation associated with school competence and
problems in other cultures? Is uncertainty orientation relevant
to psycho-emotional adjustment such as feelings of loneliness
and social dissatisfaction? To address these issues, we
conducted a study of uncertainty orientation and school and
psychological adjustment in a sample of Chinese elementary
school children.
In Western societies, a primary socialization goal is to help
children develop individual autonomy, self-reliance and
assertiveness. The cultural values emphasize the individual as

the unit of experience and becoming ones own person

(Larson, 1999; Triandis, 1990). Children are encouraged to
acquire independent thinking, self-direction and personal
decision-making abilities. The traditional Chinese society has
often been described as hierarchically structured and grouporiented (e.g., Oyserman, Coon, & Kemmelmeier, 2002;
Triandis, 1989). The socialization goal is more concerned with
the development of social connectedness, cooperation,
conformity and self-control (e.g., Greenfield, 1994; Markus &
Kitayama, 1991; Triandis, 1989). The main task of parents and
other socialization agents is to help children learn social standards and norms and their roles in the hierarchical society,
respect for authority, and responsible behaviors and skills to
maintain group harmony and interpersonal cooperation
(Chen, 2000; Oyserman et al., 2002). It has been found that
relative to North American parents, Chinese parent are less
likely to use inductive reasoning and other child-centered
parenting strategies (e.g., Chen, et al., 1998). Moreover,
Chinese parents tend to endorse more restrictive and highpower approaches and emphasize obedience in childrearing
(e.g., Chao, 1994; Dornbusch, Ritter, Leiderman, Roberts, &
Fraleigh, 1987; Lin & Fu, 1990). The relatively higher level of
parental control and authoritarianism may have implications
for the development of certainty and uncertainty orientations
in Chinese children.
Nevertheless, substantial within-culture variations exist in
socialization beliefs and values in contemporary Chinese
society (e.g., Chen et al., 1998). In a recent study based on
observations of motherchild interactions, for example, Liu et
al. (2005) found that although Chinese and Canadian mothers
differed on major parenting behaviors such as encouragement
of autonomy and encouragement of connectedness, there was
considerable variability in each sample. Indeed, many Chinese
mothers were more likely to encourage their children to engage
in autonomous and exploratory behaviors than affiliative and
cooperative behaviors. Moreover, parental encouragement of
exploration has been found to be associated with childrens
social competence and adjustment such as internalized selfcontrol in Chinese children (e.g., Chen, Rubin et al., 2003).
Similarly, it has been reported that whereas Chinese parents
value social connectedness, especially within the family, individual independence and autonomy are not necessarily
discouraged (Chen et al., 1998; Lin & Fu, 1990). Chinese
parents may realize that in order to function adequately in a
larger society and to adjust to the changing demands of
contemporary society, children need to learn independent and
assertive skills. This may be particularly the case in urban
China as the large scale economic reforms in the country
toward the capitalistic system and the introduction of Western
ideologies may lead to changes in parental child-rearing attitudes and behaviors. In the new, competitive environment,
behavioral characteristics that facilitate the achievement of
personal goals such as social initiative and independence may
be increasingly valued and encouraged (Chen, Cen, Li, & He,
2005). In contrast, shy, wary and restrained behaviors, which
were associated with indexes of social and school adjustment
in the early 1990s, have been found to contribute to peer rejection, school problems and psycho-emotional difficulties in
urban Chinese children in recent years (Chen et al., 2005).
Given this background, we expected that uncertainty orientation might be conducive to school and psychological
adjustment in Chinese children. Specifically, since uncertaintyoriented children tend to approach uncertain situations in an

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT, 2008, 32 (2), 137144

attempt to reduce the uncertainty, strive to find out new things

about the self or the world around them, and acquire knowledge through logical information processing such as hypothetical-deductive thinking (Sorrentino & Roney, 2000), they may
be at a distinct advantage in obtaining extensive opportunities
to learn various skills in the school and other settings.
Moreover, positive social and school experiences that
uncertainty-oriented children obtain may promote their selfconfidence and positive feelings about themselves and their
social world (Chen et al., 2004; Chen, He, Li, & Li, 2004). In
contrast, the low motivation to explore the new environment
and the relatively passive behavioral and learning style in
certainty-oriented children are likely to hinder the development of social and cognitive competencies (Sorrentino et al.,
1990) and lead to difficulties in coping with stress and distress,
especially in the changing and challenging situations (Chen et
al., 2005), which may eventually be reflected in their negative
self-perceptions and self-feelings. Therefore, we hypothesized
in the present study that uncertainty orientation would be positively associated with school competence and psychological
well-being. We further hypothesized that uncertainty orientation would be negatively associated with school difficulties
and psychological problems such as negative self-perceptions
of competence and feelings of loneliness.
In short, the purpose of the present study was to examine
relations between certainty vs. uncertainty orientation and
school and psychological adjustment in Chinese children. We
believe that the study would help us understand the nature of
the uncertainty orientation in Chinese context as well as the
functional significance of childrens uncertainty orientation for
social and psychological adjustment in general.

Method
Participants
Participants in the study were 390 children (193 girls and 197
boys) in grades 4, 5, and 6 in an ordinary elementary school
in Beijing, P.R. China. Unlike a small number of key schools
in the city in which students were often selected from different areas based on their school performance, students in
ordinary schools came from the residential areas where the
school is located. The children were in three classes in each
grade, with 40 to 50 students in each class. The mean ages of
children were 10 years, 4 months, 11year, 6 months, and 12
years, 3 months at grades 4, 5, and 6, respectively. The curriculum, which was established by the State Educational Bureau
and was identical in schools of the region, consisted of such
major subjects as Chinese and mathematics. Students in the
schools spent roughly the same amount of time in the classroom. The schedule of courses and other academic activities
was typically identical for students in the same class.
The students were mainly from two kinds of families: (a)
43% were from families in which parents were ordinary
workers such as bus drivers, cookers and salesmen; most of
them had an educational level of junior high school or elementary school, and (b) 28% were from professional families in
which parents were civic officials, cadres, accountants, military
officers; their educational levels ranged mainly from college to
university undergraduate, and (c) the rest (29%) had parents
who were peasants, small business owners and unemployed
persons with varied levels of education. Eighty-eight percent

139

of the children were only children with no siblings, and 12%

had one or two siblings. The average family income per person
per month is 748.70 yuan. Most children (96%) were from
intact families. The demographic data were similar to those
reported by the National Bureau of Statistics of China
concerning urban populations (Bulletin, 2003). Preliminary
analyses indicated that family demographic variables had no
significant effects on the variables and the patterns of the
relations in the study.

Measures
Uncertainty orientation. Childrens uncertainty orientation
was assessed by using a projective measure, nUncertainty,
developed by Sorrentino, Hanna, & Roney (1992). This
measure was adapted from an adult version, which has been
used in a number of studies in North America, China and
other countries (Sorrentino et al., 2001). The child version has
also been proved reliable and valid in Canada, Germany and
Iran (e.g., Huber, Sorrentino, Davidson, Eppler, & Roth,
2002). The members of our research team carefully examined
the items and the format of the measure using a variety of
strategies (e.g., repeated discussions in the research group,
interviews with children and teachers). We translated and back
translated the measure to ensure comparability with the
English version. Following the procedure described by
Sorrentino et al. (1992), participants were presented with four
sentence leads and asked to write a story about each. The
sentence leads were (1) two people are working in a laboratory
on a piece of equipment, (2) a person is sitting wondering
about what may happen, (3) a young person is standing and a
vague operation scene is in the background, and (4) a person
is thinking and there is a picture of crossing-road in his mind.
For each sentence lead, participants were provided with a
series of questions including (1) What is happening? Who is
(are) the person(s) in the story?, (2) What has led up to this
situation? That is, what has happened in the past?, and (3)
What is being thought? Each sentence lead was presented
for 20 s, followed by a 4-min interval for writing the stories.
The participants were asked to write a story in response to the
sentence lead and the questions.
Stories were scored as containing nUncertainty imagery if
they met specific criteria. These criteria were described in
greater detail elsewhere (see Sorrentino et al., 1992). In
general, uncertainty imagery was scored if a story concerned
the attainment of an outcome of doubtful likelihood, a statement of curiosity, or an incompatibility between ideas or
between ideas and experiences (e.g., These are two scientists
working on a piece of equipment which will help them get to
Mars. They have reached the moon and now are trying to get
to Mars and discover what is there; A doctor and a scientist
are trying to find a new medicine for cancer. They are having
problems. Thinking it may not work. The doctor wants it more
than the scientist; A girl has just been to class and learned
about the sun and the moon and the stars. She is thinking
about what she has just learnt and cannot figure it out. When
she was young, she was always interested in the stars and how
they moved about in the sky. She thinks that there is something
wrong with what she has just learned today in class). More
specifically, to be scored for nUncertainty imagery, the
written story must have met one of the following criteria: (a)
there was a definite statement of a desired outcome or experience that was uncertain of being realized, with the character

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WANG ET AL. / UNCERTAINTY ORIENTATION

approaching the experience; (b) a story character sought to

understand some unknown; (c) a story character was
concerned because two ideas were incompatible or incongruent, with the character seeking to resolve the inconsistency;
and (d) a character was concerned over an inconsistency
between experiences/events and an exiting mental schema,
with the character actively seeking to resolve the discrepancy.
In the present study, scoring was conducted by a trained expert
who reached reliability above .90 with materials in the scoring
manual (Sorrentino et al., 1992).
Teacher ratings. In Chinese schools, one teacher is usually in
charge of a class. This head instructor often teaches one major
course, such as Chinese language or mathematics; he or she
also takes care of the various political, social, administrative,
and daily affairs and activities of the class. The head teacher
usually instructs the same group of children over several years;
thus, becoming very familiar with the students. Following
procedures outlined by Hightower et al. (1986), the head
teacher was asked to rate each child in his/her class on the 20
items of school-related social competency and the six items of
learning problems in the TeacherChild Rating Scale (T-CRS).
Teachers were asked to rate, on a 5-point scale, how well each
of these items described each child, ranging from 1 (not at all)
to 5 (very well).
The items in the original competence measure (e.g.,
participates in class discussion, copes well with failure)
involved several highly overlapping areas including frustration
tolerance, assertive social skills, task orientation, and peer
social skills (Hightower et al., 1986). Factor analyses of the
data in the Chinese sample revealed that the 20 items
comprised a single competence factor. Thus, only a global
score of school-related competence was calculated in this
study. The six items in the learning problems scale tapped
childrens difficulties in academic performance (e.g., underachieving, poorly motivated to achieve, having difficulties
in learning academic subjects) (Hightower et al., 1986). The
total scores on each subscale were standardized within the class
to allow for appropriate comparisons. The measure has proved
reliable and valid in Chinese children (Chen, Rubin, & Li,
1995). The internal consistencies were .92 and .84 for school
competence and learning problems, respectively, in this study.
Academic achievement. Information concerning academic
achievement in Chinese language and mathematics was
obtained for all participants. Chinese and mathematics were
the two main subjects in Chinese schools. Teachers were asked
to rate, on a 5-point scale, how well each child performed on
each of the subjects, ranging from 1 (very poor) to 5 (very
well). Scores on Chinese and mathematics were significantly
correlated (r = .84, p < .001) and summed to form a single
index of academic achievement. Previous research has indicated that academic achievement is a useful and valid measure
of school performance in Chinese children (Chen, Rubin & Li,
1997).
Distinguished studentship. There are various formal student
organizations, which are often hierarchical in nature, in
Chinese schools. Leaders of these organizations, elected by
peers and teachers, are usually believed to be good students in
various aspects of school performance. Data on student leadership were collected from school administrative records in the
present study. Leadership was coded as follows: Students who

were group leaders within the class received a score of 1;

students who held leadership positions at the class level and at
the school and/or municipal level received scores of 2 and 3,
respectively. Students who did not hold leadership positions
were given a score of 0. The mean of leadership was .71
(SD = .88).
There is usually an evaluation of each student by the end of
each academic year. Students who are judged by classmates
and teachers to be good in moral, behavioral and school
performance may be nominated for the school or municipal
award of excellent student. There are different levels of the
honorship, from the class level to the municipal level. Once
approved by the school or the Educational Bureau, the
students who obtain honorship are given awards in public
meetings. The hierarchical honorship was coded as follows:
students who did not receive any honorship in the past year
received a score of 0; students who received honorship at
the class level received a score of 1; and students who
received honorship beyond the class level received a score of
2. The mean of honorship was .75 (SD = .83) in the present
study.
Leadership and honorship both tapped various social,
behavioral and academic aspects of school performance. The
validity of leadership and honorship measures has been
demonstrated in previous studies in predicting Chinese
childrens social and psychological adjustment (e.g., Chen et
al., 1995; Chen et al., 1997). They were significantly correlated, r = .54, p < .001. And, preliminary analyses indicated
that the patterns of their relations with other variables were
virtually identical. Therefore, leadership and honorship were
aggregated to form a single index of distinguished studentship
in the present study.
Self-perceptions. Childrens self-perceptions of competence
and general self-worth were assessed by a Chinese self-report
measure adapted from The Self-Perception Profile for Children
(Harter, 1985). Children were asked to rate, on the 4-point
scale (Really true for me and Sort of true for me on each
of the left and right sides), their self-perceptions of
competence in social, cognitive, behavior and general selfworth domains (e.g., Some people find it hard to make
friends, but other people find its pretty easy to make friends,
Some people are happy with themselves as a person, but other
people are often not happy with themselves). The six items
within each domain were summed to form the score of the
subscale (possible range = 0 to 24), with higher scores indicating more positive self-perceptions. The four subscales were
significantly correlated (rs ranged from .63 to .73, p < .001),
and were aggregated to form a single index of self-perceptions
of competence. The measure has proved reliable and valid in
Chinese children (Chan, 1997; Chen, He, Li, & Li, 2004;
Stigler, Smith, & Mao, 1985). The mean score of the selfperception variable was 72.27 (SD = 12.83). Internal reliability
was .87 in Chinese children.
Loneliness and social dissatisfaction. A self-report measure
developed by Asher, Hymel, and Renshaw (1984) was adapted
to assess the participants feelings of loneliness and social
dissatisfaction. Following procedures outlined by Asher et al.
(1984), participants responses, on a 5-point scale, to the 16
self-statements included in this measure (e.g., I feel
lonely, I have nobody to talk to) were summed, with higher
scores indicating greater feelings of loneliness and social

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT, 2008, 32 (2), 137144

F(14,756) = 1.76, p < .05. The effect of sex  grade interactions was nonsignificant, Wilks = .96, F(14,756) = 1.14,
p > .05. Follow up univariate analyses indicated significant
main effects of sex on academic achievement, distinguished
studentship, self-perceptions of competence and teacher-rated
problems. Girls had higher scores on academic achievement,
distinguished studentship and self-perceptions and lower
scores on teacher-rated learning problems than boys. The
results also indicated that there was a significant grade effect
on uncertainty orientation. Grade 6 children (M = 3.68, SD =
5.17) had higher uncertainty orientation scores than grade 4
(M = 2.03, SD = 4.88) and grade 5 (M = 1.90, SD = 4.81)
children. No other significant main effects or interactions were
found.

dissatisfaction. The measure has proved reliable and valid in

Chinese and many other cultures (Chen et al., 2004). The
mean loneliness score was 27.37 (SD = 11.31) in the present
study. Internal consistency was .90 in this study.

Procedure
The participants were recruited through the school by the
researchers. Students and their parents were provided a letter
of information describing the project, and they were invited to
participate in the study. Written consent was obtained from the
children and their parents. The participation rate was 95%.
The children were group administered measures of uncertainty orientation, self-perceptions of competence and loneliness. Teachers were requested to complete the T-CRS for each
participant concerning his/her school-related competence and
learning problems and academic achievement. Data concerning childrens leadership and honorship were obtained from
the school records. For the measures that might be unfamiliar
to children in format, such as the uncertainty orientation
measure and the self-perception scale, extensive explanations
were provided during administration. In addition, research
assistants were available during the sessions to children who
needed particular assistance. No evidence was found that
Chinese children had major difficulties understanding the
items in the measures or the procedure. The administration of
all measures was carried out by a group of psychology teachers
and graduate students in China.

Relations between uncertainty orientation and school

and psychological adjustment
A series of regression analyses was conducted to examine the
relations between uncertainty orientation and school and
psychological adjustment. In the analyses, sex and grade were
entered as control variables. A variable of parental education
and occupation status, formed on the basis of standardized
parental education and occupation scores that were correlated
with each other (r = .51 to .65, p < .001), and family income
were entered in the second and third steps. Uncertainty orientation was entered next. The results indicated parental
education and occupation status was positively associated with
academic achievement, teacher-rated competence, distinguished studentship, and self-perceptions of competence, =
.17 to .26, t = 3.47 to 5.31, ps < .001, and negatively associated with teacher-rated learning problems and loneliness, =
.10 and .13, t = 2.16 and 2.52, ps < .05. The results
concerning the main effects of uncertainty orientation are
presented in Table 2. Uncertainty orientation was significantly
and positively associated with academic achievement, teacherrated school competence and self-perceptions of competence.
Uncertainty orientation was also significantly and negatively
associated with teacher-rated learning problems and loneliness. In addition, a significant sex by uncertainty orientation

Results
Descriptive data
The descriptive data on uncertainty orientation and adjustment variables are presented in Table 1. A 2 (sex)  3 (grade)
multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted
to examine the overall effects of sex and grade on all the
variables. The analysis revealed significant effects of sex, Wilks
= .83, F(7,378) = 11.21, p < .001, and grade, Wilks = .94,

Table 1
Means and standard deviations of uncertainty orientation and school and psychological adjustment variables
Grade 4

Uncertainty orientation
Academic achievement
TR-competence
TR-learning problems
Distinguished studentship
Self-perceptions
Loneliness

Grade 5

Grade 6

Boys

Girls

Boys

Girls

Boys

Girls

1.44
(4.44)
.10
(.99)
.01
(1.04)
.22
(1.15)
.24
(1.60)
68.94
(12.89)
29.62
(12.10)

2.76
(5.33)
.11
(.99)
.02
(1.12)
.23
(.92)
.36
(1.48)
76.95
(13.09)
26.66
(9.56)

1.81
(4.92)
.26
(.95)
.17
(.87)
.38
(1.12)
.32
(1.90)
69.36
(11.16)
28.73
(12.12)

1.97
(4.76)
.20
(.98)
.13
(.96)
.33
(.84)
.21
(1.69)
75.35
(13.88)
26.69
(11.30)

3.99
(5.59)
.15
(1.02)
.13
(1.11)
.36
(1.03)
.14
(1.76)
68.27
(11.40)
27.04
(9.31)

3.33
(4.69)
.18
(.94)
.15
(.86)
.39
(.53)
.63
(1.83)
75.10
(11.46)
26.09
(9.94)

Note. Standard deviations are in parentheses under mean scores. TR = Teacher ratings.
**p < .01; ***p < .001.

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F value
Sex

Grade

.27***

5.11**

11.18***

.07**

3.18***

.04**

43.26***

.07**

7.75***

2.99**

36.32***

.39**

3.34***

.77**

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Table 2
Effects of uncertainty orientation on school and psychological
adjustment
Adjustment variable

SE

t value

Academic achievement
Teacher-rated
competence
Teacher-rated learning
problems
Distinguished
studentship
Self-perceptions
of competence
Loneliness

.12

.05

.13

2.66***

.12

.05

.12

2.33***

.15

.05

.15

3.17***

.14

.09

.08

1.68***

2.57
2.02

.56
.54

.22
.19

4.59***
3.77***

Note. The effects of sex, grade, parental education and occupation

status and family income were controlled in the analyses.
*p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.

interaction was found in predicting teacher-rated learning

problems. Further analyses revealed that uncertainty orientation was negatively associated with teacher-rated learning
problems for boys, B = .27, SE = .08, = .26, t = 3.63,
p < .001; the relation was nonsignificant for girls.

Discussion
Findings from a number of empirical research programs have
indicated that as an important personal characteristic, uncertainty or certainty orientation may have pervasive impact on
social, cognitive and psychological functioning (e.g.,
Sorrentino & Roney, 2000). Until now, however, studies about
uncertainty orientation have been conducted mostly with
adults. Moreover, these studies have been conducted in
Western cultures. As a result, little is known about the development of uncertainty orientation in other cultures. The present
study represents our first effort in investigating uncertainty vs.
certainty orientation in Chinese children. The findings
concerning grade differences on uncertainty orientation and its
relations to social and school adjustment constituted a significant contribution to our understanding of the phenomenon in
a non-Western society.
The results first indicated that children in grade 6 had
significantly higher scores than those in grades 4 and 5 on
uncertainty orientation. Data from adult samples seem to
suggest that uncertainty orientation is relatively stable over
time and across situations (Sorrentino, Smithson, Hodson,
Roney, & Walker, 2003). The results of the present study indicated that uncertainty orientation tended to increase as a
function of age/grade, suggesting the developmental nature of
the phenomenon.
According to Sorrentino et al. (2003), uncertainty orientation is associated with underlying cognitive abilities. In new
and uncertain situations, relatively sophisticated cognitive
operations may be required in order to manipulate mixed and
multiple sources of information in a more flexible way. People
at the higher level may be able to integrate what they have
learned in the past with the challenges of the present, whereas
people lacking adequate cognitive abilities may find the situation confusing and frustrating. Sorrentino et al. (1990)
reported that uncertainty-oriented people are attracted to

hypothetical-deductive thinking, which provides them with an

opportunity to maximize positive information value from the
process of discovery. However, certainty-oriented people who
tend to maintain clarity by adhering to what is already known,
often perform at the concrete operation level. Similar results
have been reported by Goodmurphy (1990) concerning
relations between uncertainty orientation and moral judgment
and ego development.
Given this background, it may be conceivable that children
may display greater uncertainty orientation with increasing
age. Age differences in uncertainty orientation may be facilitated by childrens experiences during developmental transitions such as the entry to the period of adolescence. Sixth
grade is the final year of elementary school in China.
Children may start to explore different possibilities for their
social and academic pursuits. Many children get involved in
peer groups such as cliques and crowds with different
lifestyles and value systems (e.g., Chen, Chang, & He, 2003).
At the same time, children in adolescence display greater
independence in their thinking and behaviors and seek to
establish personal autonomy from the family (Brown, 1990;
Maccoby, 1998). During this process, children may experiment with various roles and attempt to develop a distinct selfidentity. The motivation to explore self and the world may be
conducive to the enhancement of uncertainty orientation,
which may contribute to significant differences between
children in grade 6 and their younger counterparts.
Research on uncertainty orientation has focused largely on
its immediate psychological processes (Sorrentino & Roney,
2000). Our understanding is relatively limited concerning the
functional significance of uncertainty orientation for general
adjustment status. Moreover, it is largely unknown how uncertainty orientation may be associated with social and school
performance in non-Western cultures. It has been argued, for
example, that learning in Chinese culture focuses on the acquisition of knowledge or memorization, rather than critical
thinking such as questioning, evaluating and generating ideas
(e.g., Pratt & Wong, 1999; Tweed & Lehman, 2002). Students
are encouraged to respect and follow the instructions or
guidance of authority figures and perform with great effort on
structured tasks in the school (Tweed & Lehman, 2002). If this
is true, one would expect that certainty-oriented children, who
tend to maintain clarity by adhering to what is already known
would obtain higher academic achievement than others. Our
results did not seem to support this argument. We found that
uncertainty orientation was positively associated with school
competence and academic success and negatively associated
with learning problems. The results suggest that the active
exploration of unknown situations as characterized by uncertainty orientation is helpful for learning and achieving in
Chinese children.
Several explanations may be offered. First, it is possible that
the academic activities in Chinese schools may not be passive
or focusing on acquiring existing knowledge, but rather be
active, creative and self-directed, focusing on questioning,
problem-solving and critical thinking, as observed by Li (2003)
and Stevenson et al. (1990). As such, it may not be surprising
that uncertainty-oriented students are more likely than others
to benefit from school activities and display competence in
learning, and consequently perform well on academic work
(Sorrentino & Roney, 2000). Alternatively, learning in Chinese
schools may indeed be highly structured and task-oriented.
However, even in the structured context, the nature of learning

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT, 2008, 32 (2), 137144

and obtaining new knowledge require an active involvement in

understanding the concepts and coherent connections among
them beyond rote memorization. The broad and diverse
perspectives that uncertainty-oriented students take in the
learning process and the intrinsic interest that these students
maintain in exploring different aspects of the phenomenon
may help them develop a sophisticated understanding of the
issues. In other words, although certainty-oriented students
may be able to follow teachers instructions and perform to the
standard on structured tasks, uncertainty-oriented students
may develop a broader background and understand the
material at a deeper level, particularly in the long run (Huber,
Sorrentino, Davidson, Eppler, & Roth, 1992).
Uncertainty orientation was also found to be significantly
and positively associated with self-perceptions of competence
and self-worth and negatively associated with loneliness and
social dissatisfaction. Thus, relative to others, uncertaintyoriented children had more positive views of their competence
and self-regard. At the same time, they were less likely to report
feelings of loneliness. The result suggested that certainty vs.
uncertainty orientation may be of significance for social and
psychological adjustment in Chinese children. The traditional
Chinese society has often been described as a hierarchical and
group-oriented system. During socialization, children are
expected and encouraged to learn and follow the social
standard and to develop behaviors that are conducive to group
functioning such as obedience, cooperation and behavioral
control (Chen, Wang & DeSouza, 2006; Ho, 1986; Yang,
1986). Indeed, Chinese children have been found to be more
compliant, rule-abiding and behaviorally more inhibited than
their Western counterparts in social interactions (Chen et al.,
1998; Chen et al., 2003). The results of the present study
suggest that despite the general cultural and socialization
expectations and requirements, uncertainty-oriented children,
who tend to explore new environments and think and behave
in unconventional ways, are emotionally more resilient and
feel more positive about themselves than other children. It will
be interesting to explore the processes in which certainty and
uncertainty orientations are associated with social-cognitive
styles in reacting to and coping with adjustment stress and
distress. For example, China has been undergoing dramatic
changes toward a market-oriented system. The social and
economic changes correspond to the introduction of Western
individualistic values and ideologies such as liberty, individual
freedom and independence, along with advanced technologies.
In many schools, whereas academic achievement continues to
be emphasized, children are encouragement to develop skills
and qualities such as expression of personal opinions,
autonomy and self-direction that have been traditionally
neglected in China but are required for adaptation to the
competitive environment (Xu & Peng, 2001; Yu, 2002).
Uncertainty orientation appears to fit with the changing and
uncertain social atmosphere. As a result, uncertainty-oriented
children may be able to cope with the challenges and thus
experience relatively fewer psycho-emotional difficulties.
Of course, the arguments about the processes involved in the
relations between certainty vs. uncertainty orientation and
social, school and psychological adjustment are highly speculative. Researchers should investigate cognitive and emotional
factors that may mediate the processes in the future. The
present study is correlational, which generally does not allow
us to make any conclusions about the causal direction. It is
possible, for example, that the relations between uncertainty

143

orientation and school performance are contributed by a third

factor (e.g., cognitive abilities) that serves as a common cause.
Similarly, relations between positive self-perceptions of
competence may be derived from the common influence of
such factors as openness to experience and self-confidence that
underlying childrens performance in certain and uncertain
situations and reports about self. The possible mediating and
common cause variables should be considered in research
design in the future in order to examine their roles in the
associations between uncertainty orientation and social and
psychological adjustment. Longitudinal research will also be
helpful to clarify some of the issues.
The present study was conducted in a sample of elementary
school children. The learning and socialization experiences
may be different in high schools. For example, because a major
task for students in high schools in China is to participate in
the national college entrance examinations, which is critical in
determining whether they have the opportunity to receive a
higher education, school curriculum and activities are organized more directly to help students perform on structured
academic work. Therefore, one should be careful in generalizing the results of present study to other age groups.
The sample in this study was from an urban area of China.
Dramatic differences exist in cultural values and socialization
practices among regions of the country, particularly between
urban and rural areas (e.g., Fuligni & Zhang, 2004). Thus, it
is important to extend the research on uncertainty orientation
to children with different social, cultural and geographic backgrounds. Moreover, to understand the nature and significance
of childrens uncertainty orientation more completely, it is also
important to investigate the phenomenon in other nonWestern cultures in the future.

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