Going beyond this earlier theory, we now treat temporal construal theory as a special case of a general theory of psychological distance. The present article builds upon our earlier work on temporal construal theory, which focused in particular on the way that temporal distance from future events influences representation and judgment ( Liberman & Trope, 1998 Trope & Liberman, 2003). The different distances should also similarly influence prediction, evaluation, and action, inasmuch as these outcomes are mediated by construal. Construal levels thus expand and contract one’s mental horizon. As psychological distance increases, construals would become more abstract, and as level of abstraction increases, so too would the psychological distances people envisage. Because the various distances have the same egocentric reference point, they should all be cognitively related to each other and similarly affect and be affected by level of construal. Psychological distance is thus egocentric: Its reference point is the self, here and now, and the different ways in which an object might be removed from that point-in time, space, social distance, and hypotheticality-constitute different distance dimensions.Īccording to CLT, then, people traverse different psychological distances by using similar mental construal processes. Psychological distance is a subjective experience that something is close or far away from the self, here, and now. They serve to transcend the immediate situation and represent psychologically distant objects. Predictions, memories, and speculations are all mental constructions, distinct from direct experience. Thus, although we cannot experience what is not present, we can make predictions about the future, remember the past, imagine other people’s reactions, and speculate about what might have been. How do we transcend the here and now to include distal entities? How do we plan for the distant future, understand other people’s point of view, and take into account hypothetical alternatives to reality? Construal level theory (CLT) proposes that we do so by forming abstract mental construals of distal objects. And yet, memories, plans, predictions, hopes, and counterfactual alternatives populate our minds, influence our emotions, and guide our choice and action. It is impossible to experience the past and the future, other places, other people, and alternatives to reality. People directly experience only the here and now. Supporting this analysis, research shows (a) that the various distances are cognitively related to each other, (b) that they similarly influence and are influenced by level of mental construal, and (c) that they similarly affect prediction, preference, and action. Transcending the self in the here and now entails mental construal, and the farther removed an object is from direct experience, the higher (more abstract) the level of construal of that object. Psychological distance is egocentric: Its reference point is the self in the here and now, and the different ways in which an object might be removed from that point-in time, in space, in social distance, and in hypotheticality-constitute different distance dimensions. Without denying the uniqueness of each process, it is proposed that they constitute different forms of traversing psychological distance. People are capable of thinking about the future, the past, remote locations, another person’s perspective, and counterfactual alternatives.
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