Indeterminism belief protects against uncertainty: First empirical findings

We empirically explore the idea that individuals' perception of the (in)determinism of their world plays a crucial role in how they tolerate uncertainties. We argue that the belief in indeterminism provides personal autonomy and partial independence from the influence of external events, which can protect against perceived uncertainties. Our small empirical study (N = 61) provides first evidence that beliefs in free will and metaphysical dualism have no effect on uncertainty tolerance, but that the belief in an indetermined world is positively associated with uncertainty tolerance. We extend these findings by examining proxies of indeterminism belief in a cross-national dataset (N = 31 countries), including perceived political and personal freedom, as well as religious belief. We find that greater political and personal freedom is associated with higher tolerance for uncertainty across countries, while religious belief, which posits a world determined by divine powers, is negatively associated with uncertainty tolerance. With these theoretical ideas and empirical findings, we hope to stimulate research to further advance our understanding of the association between belief in indeterminism and tolerating uncertainty.