Both additive and multiplicative combinations of importance and uncertainty have predicted information search in past research. In an attempt to obtain both relationships in a single experiment, this study manipulated importance in terms of incentive and difficulty, and it varied uncertainty in terms of ambiguity and incompatibility. Data from 240 subjects indicated that ambiguity depressed confidence and heightened direct and social search, but other predicted effects were not obtained. The failure to replicate prior research was attributed to use of manipulations between- as opposed to within-subjects.
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