Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory

The Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory primarily deals with interactions between strangers and some cultural group. The founder of the theory, William, Gudykunst, emphasizes that these interactions are not strictly limited to foreign cultures. This theory can be applied to any situation where one person involved is the "stranger." The theory discusses how during the intitial interactions between the stranger and the ingroup, both parties experience anxiety and aren't sure how they should act. This anxiety is intensified when it involves people from different cultures. The first thing that popped in my head when talking about this theory was when I spent a week in Nicaragua my senior year of highschool. The villiage we stayed in had only seen caucasian people three other times. When we first arrived in the villiage, the tension was very high between the villiagers and the team I was with. The interaction was somewhat awkward, not only because of the language barrier, but also because no one had any idea how to react. Our team was anxious because we didn't know what was acceptable behavior, or how to approach the villiagers, and I'm positive the people of the villiage felt the same anxiety. Also, like the theory suggests, because my interaction with the villiage was an interaction involving two parties from completely different cultures, our anxiety was intensified quite a bit.