Motivational and cognitive correlates of avoidance of ambiguity: The role of values and relational complexity

• Among adolescents, conformity values relate to more ambiguity avoidance.
• Among mid-adolescents, self-direction values relate to less ambiguity avoidance.
• Among early adolescents, self-direction values interact with relational complexity.
• High self-direction and relational complexity relate to low ambiguity avoidance.

The paper reports on a study examining the association between relational complexity, values (self direction and conformity), and avoidance of ambiguity among German early (N = 883, age M = 11.11, SD = 0.79) and mid-adolescents (N = 473, age M = 15.97, SD = 0.75). While self direction values predicted less avoidance of ambiguity for mid-adolescents, conformity values predicted more avoidance of ambiguity among early and mid-adolescents. Relational complexity, measured using the Latin Square task, was not associated with avoidance of ambiguity, but the variables interacted in early adolescence: self-direction values were significantly and negatively related to avoidance of ambiguity among adolescents with high but not low relational complexity. Thus, motivation seems to have a greater association with avoidance of ambiguity when relational complexity is high and ambiguous information can be processed.