The relationship between possibility closeness, risk estimates and anxiety level

Abstract

It was widely reported that one’s intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a key factor in predicting one’s anxiety level (Degas et al., 1998; Ladouceur et al., 2000; Carleton, 2012). Recent theory by Brosschot (2016) further suggested that it is the uncertainty about safety, rather than the uncertainty about threat, that contributes to the development and maintenance of anxiety. Borrowing from the contemporary philosophical debate about risk assessment, this study investigated whether the introduction of safety (or Possibility Closeness, according to Pritchard, 2005, 2015) would have cognitive and affective impact of individuals facing risk. Results reported that the descriptions of farfetched possibility of undesirable outcome showed lower levels of risk estimates, situational anxiety, arousal, as well as higher level of valence compared to when the possibility was close. Philosophical implications on the nature of risk, as well as clinical implications on the prospect of a Safety-Based intervention approach were explored.