 Our brains are wired to make us cautious about the unknown - to help us look before we leap, for our safety. And we are faced with uncertainty daily: unexpected traffic snarls, changes at work, choosing which candidate to vote for. Research shows that uncertainty can elicit "fear, worry and anxiety, perceptions of vulnerability, and avoidance of decision-making". People have varying levels of uncertainty tolerance and respond to uncertainty in a range of ways, from seeking more information to distancing and denial. A proven way to become more tolerant of uncertainty is to practice in low-stakes situations where the next thing is not yet known, like improv exercises!
A 2020 study points out that "each successive moment in improvisation is one of many (perhaps infinite) possibilities; as such, an improv encounter provides direct and repeated experience with social uncertainty." So experiences that hold to the supporting and accepting tenets of improv can help us to develop new associations with the idea of encountering uncertainty. Plus, it's so much fun!
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