title: Psychological entropy: a framework for understanding uncertainty-related anxiety.
abstract: Entropy, a concept derived from thermodynamics and information theory, describes the amount of uncertainty and disorder within a system. Self-organizing systems engage in a continual dialogue with the environment and must adapt themselves to changing circumstances to keep internal entropy at a manageable level. We propose the entropy model of uncertainty (EMU), an integrative theoretical framework that applies the idea of entropy to the human information system to understand uncertainty-related anxiety. Four major tenets of EMU are proposed: (a) Uncertainty poses a critical adaptive challenge for any organism, so individuals are motivated to keep it at a manageable level; (b) uncertainty emerges as a function of the conflict between competing perceptual and behavioral affordances; (c) adopting clear goals and belief structures helps to constrain the experience of uncertainty by reducing the spread of competing affordances; and (d) uncertainty is experienced subjectively as anxiety and is associated with activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and with heightened noradrenaline release. By placing the discussion of uncertainty management, a fundamental biological necessity, within the framework of information theory and self-organizing systems, our model helps to situate key psychological processes within a broader physical, conceptual, and evolutionary context.
authors.affiliation: Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S3E6, Canada. jacob.hirsh@rotman.utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Jacob B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Hirsh
authors.forename: Raymond A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Mar
authors.forename: Jordan B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Peterson
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D001519:Behavior; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D019277:Entropy; D005239:Fear; D006040:Goals; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009482:Neurophysiology; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000502:physiology; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology; D013598:Systems Theory; D035501:Uncertainty
chemical_list: D009638:Norepinephrine