Construal Levels and Psychological Distance: Effects on Representation, Prediction, Evaluation, and Behavior.
JOURNAL OF CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY 2007;
17:83-95. [PMID:
21822366 PMCID:
PMC3150814 DOI:
10.1016/s1057-7408(07)70013-x]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 271] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Construal level theory (CLT) is an account of how psychological distance influences individuals' thoughts and behavior. CLT assumes that people mentally construe objects that are psychologically near in terms of low-level, detailed, and contextualized features, whereas at a distance they construe the same objects or events in terms of high-level, abstract, and stable characteristics. Research has shown that different dimensions of psychological distance (time, space, social distance, and hypotheticality) affect mental construal and that these construals, in turn, guide prediction, evaluation, and behavior. The present paper reviews this research and its implications for consumer psychology.
Collapse