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Melanie Tannenbaum has written several interesting blog posts about ambiguity intolerance and its connection to the early popular support Donald Trump is currently enjoying. Roughly speaking, people who are not comfortable without a plan of action or a path forward are said to have more ambiguity intolerance.
What may be surprising, however, is the research showing that people high in ambiguity intolerance feel so profoundly uncomfortable with the idea of uncertainty, they will often prefer a slightly negative yet certain outcome to a potentially-more-positive, uncertain one. In other words, people may find Donald Trump to be disagreeable, abrasive, or downright unlikeable. But because of his reputation for "telling it like it is" and "being honest to a fault," they also feel certain that they can believe Trump when he says he's telling the truth.
Tannenbaum points out that despite a record of Trump making contradictory comments in the past, people tend to believe his convictions on what he says because nobody would say those "non-normative" things if they really didn't believe it.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday August 19 2015, @05:55AM
Add in the hypocrisy that is common with people who discern minute flaws in others, perhaps even deliberately using the natural ambiguity of political correctness as a cudgel, and you have a natural ambiguity intolerance reaction. When it comes to things like this, people want clear rules, not some creeping and vague blob of taboo where some people can be ostracized for off color jokes and others can engage in outrageous behavior (like cheating on wives) without serious consequence.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by mojo chan on Wednesday August 19 2015, @07:42AM
For example, consider "microaggressions" which are by definition unintended discrimination, almost always because the person microaggressing is unaware of the discrimination (which to be honest is a subjective determination). You can't get more ambiguous than ambiguity that you are unaware of, and which might not actually exist except in the mind of some random person you happen to be near.
Your comment really gets to the heart of the issue. People don't like to be criticised or feel that their behaviour is harmful, it makes them uncomfortable. Some people start to get paranoid too, which is an angle the anti-PC groups really push, claiming that because you can't possibly know when you are saying harmful things you have to be constantly on your guard.
The reality is that microagressions and the like are just a matter of education, and not assigning blame. They get conflated with things that people are horrified to be accused of like racism of sexism.
Of course some people are actually racist and sexist. It's the classic "I'm not racist, but..." thing. There is such a strong reaction to being accused of racism that even people who know they are racist can't admit to themselves.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 19 2015, @03:35PM
No need to play Internet psychologist, here. Some people have perfectly logical reasons for not caring/criticizing others for being offended about something.
microagressions
Of course.