Uncertainty in the choices a person makes represents the difficulty of making a decision when the outcomes of the choice are not easy to predict either due to incomplete information or due to the impossibility of calculating these outcomes. For example, when playing slots on legal iGaming platforms, such as Casino Verde, a portal that accepts players from Romania, who offer generous rewards, the results of a spin are impossible to predict due to RNG algorithms.
The RNG (Random Number Generator) system plays the role of uncertainty in the choices we make because it does not give us any clear results. However, although it seems like an element that negatively affects what happens in our lives, in reality, uncertainty plays a positive role, proving useful for our personal development. Find out how uncertainty shapes human choices by reading this article!
What are the factors that influence our choices in life?
Human choices are individual or group decisions that are generated by a complex of interconnected factors of a psychological, emotional, social or external nature to our will. The list of factors that influence our decisions and choices includes the following elements:
- Emotions – feelings and experiences such as happiness, anxiety, fear, dread, joy or hope have a strong impact on the choices we make; negative emotions urge us to be cautious, while positive emotions help us take risks and increase our self-esteem;
- Previous experiences – memories and previous experiences influence the decisions we make;
- Sociability – the expectations of family members, community, and society shape our choices
- Social networks – the behavior and choices of virtual friends cause us to follow trends and stop making our own choices;
- Our personality and beliefs – these are fundamental elements in the choices we make, because they allow us to truly value our choices.
The list of factors also includes physical status, circumstantial context, our ability to self-regulate emotionally, and uncertainty.
How does uncertainty affect us?
Uncertainty means insufficient or unverified information, which does not allow us to correctly estimate the potential consequences. It is not like risk, where there is the possibility of making preliminary estimates and depends on a number of external factors such as social changes. The presence of uncertainty triggers anxiety and stress, makes us ignore valuable opportunities and causes us to act impulsively. However, uncertainty is necessary in our lives.
Why do we need uncertainty and how does it shape our choices in life?
To capitalize on uncertainty correctly, it is necessary to start from the following 3 premises:
- It is inevitable – the world we live in is constantly changing and we don’t know what the future holds, so understanding this premise helps us accept it more easily;
- Life without uncertainty is extremely boring – when everything that happens to us is predictable and no surprises arise, it is a life that offers us no motivation;
- Creates opportunities – the fact that we don’t know what is going to happen to us gives us the opportunity to learn to adapt and be open to new opportunities.
Therefore, uncertainty proves beneficial for our choices because:
- It encourages us to take risks – because we do not have the certainty of the desired and expected outcome, we assume the risk of producing varied outcomes, some of which represent new future opportunities;
- It helps us learn and adapt – in the face of uncertainty they are more open to new information, which is the key to learning and adaptation;
- It supports creativity and problem-solving – uncertainty opens up a new perspective to experiment and find creative solutions, because we are in a situation where we do not have just one predefined outcome;
- It shapes our social behavior – the fact that we have no certainties causes us to be cautious and to learn to listen and observe those around us in order to obtain information that we can process and use later;
- It helps us improve our mental state – accepting uncertainty helps improve mental health, the ability to act quickly in crisis situations, and the ability to maintain social relationships at a good level, even with people we disagree with.
In addition to the aforementioned benefits, there are also improvements in resilience and creativity, as well as increased levels of enjoyment. People adapt their learning strategies depending on the type of uncertainty they face. For example, in the case of unexpected uncertainty, they tend to explore more of the options they have to choose from. In the case of relative uncertainty, they opt for direct exploration, and when faced with total uncertainty, they choose to explore randomly.
Uncertainty makes people more or less prone to risks, and if they do not find enough information, then choices are based on simple decision-making rules. Therefore, uncertainty is a source of stress and anxiety, but it helps us evolve, find innovative solutions, look for alternatives and provides us with the necessary motivation not to get bored with our lives.
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