Randomness, Anxiety, and Performance Monitoring
If it is the case that order has these effects because it affords a sense of predictability—that is, of comprehending the causal relations present in the environment—then order that is 'incomprehensible' should have weaker effects on anxiety and performance monitoring. The importance of both order and comprehensibility become clear when you consider how goal-pursuit could proceed without them. Imagine, for example, trying to get a promotion in a company where you suspected that employee evaluations were completely random. Now imagine a slightly improved scenario where you suspected that evaluations were based on a system, but that the system was mostly inscrutable. Finally, consider pursuing the same goal in a company that had a transparent system for employee evaluation. These three scenarios exemplify what we will call randomness, incomprehensible order and comprehensible order, respectively. Theoretical models of sense-making suggest that comprehensible order should be most desirable because it suggests that predictability and controllability are attainable, whereas randomness should be most aversive because it suggests the opposite (White, 1959; McGregor et al., 2009; Kay et al., 2009; Hirsh et al., 2012; Proulx et al., 2012).
Whereas some researchers suggest that order is comforting 'solely' because it affords comprehensibility, other researchers have maintained that people are drawn to order even when it remains mysterious (Kay et al., 2009). In other words, although there may be some types of order that are better than others, all types should be better than randomness. Consistent with this line of thinking, people feel less anxious if they think that someone or something is in control of what happens, even when that control lies outside of the individual (Kay et al., 2008; Laurin et al., 2008). Here, as an ancillary hypothesis, we aim to see whether incomprehensible order has intermediate effects compared with comprehensible order and randomness.
The Importance of Comprehensibility
If it is the case that order has these effects because it affords a sense of predictability—that is, of comprehending the causal relations present in the environment—then order that is 'incomprehensible' should have weaker effects on anxiety and performance monitoring. The importance of both order and comprehensibility become clear when you consider how goal-pursuit could proceed without them. Imagine, for example, trying to get a promotion in a company where you suspected that employee evaluations were completely random. Now imagine a slightly improved scenario where you suspected that evaluations were based on a system, but that the system was mostly inscrutable. Finally, consider pursuing the same goal in a company that had a transparent system for employee evaluation. These three scenarios exemplify what we will call randomness, incomprehensible order and comprehensible order, respectively. Theoretical models of sense-making suggest that comprehensible order should be most desirable because it suggests that predictability and controllability are attainable, whereas randomness should be most aversive because it suggests the opposite (White, 1959; McGregor et al., 2009; Kay et al., 2009; Hirsh et al., 2012; Proulx et al., 2012).
Whereas some researchers suggest that order is comforting 'solely' because it affords comprehensibility, other researchers have maintained that people are drawn to order even when it remains mysterious (Kay et al., 2009). In other words, although there may be some types of order that are better than others, all types should be better than randomness. Consistent with this line of thinking, people feel less anxious if they think that someone or something is in control of what happens, even when that control lies outside of the individual (Kay et al., 2008; Laurin et al., 2008). Here, as an ancillary hypothesis, we aim to see whether incomprehensible order has intermediate effects compared with comprehensible order and randomness.
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