construal level theory

n. (CLT) Construal level theory is an account ofhow psychological distance influences individuals’ thoughts and behavior developed by Nira Liberman and Yaacov Trope. According to CLT, objects/events are psychologically proximal in the following ways: (1) when there is no social distance from an object/ event (i.e., people represent in their mind information about an object/event that they have personally interacted with and experienced, as opposed to information about an object/event that someone else has interacted with and experienced), (2) when there is no temporal distance from an object/event (i.e., people represent in their mind information about an object/event that they are currently interacting with and experiencing, as opposed to an object/event that they have already interacted with and experienced in the past or an object/event that they will interact with and experience in the future, (3) when there is no spatial distance from an object/event (i.e., people represent in their mind information about an object/event that is physically close to them, as opposed to an object/event that is physically far from them), and (4) when there is no suppositional distance from an object/event (i.e., people represent in their mind information about an object/event that is real and certainly exists, as opposed to an object/event that is hypothetical and may not exist).

Psychologically proximal objects/events are directly experienced. As people's experience with an object/event become less direct, as they become more distant from an object/ event, people can still represent in their mind information about an object/event. That is, people can still form a mental representation or construal of a psychologically distant object/event. CLT asserts that people construe objects/events differently, depending on their psychological distance from them. From a distant perspective, people purportedly form high-level, more abstract construals of objects/events. A high-level construal captures the perceived essence, gist, or summary of the given information about an object/event. The cognitive process that leads to the formation of a high-level construal is one that entails extracting the defining aspects of an object/event. From a proximal perspective, people purportedly form low-level, more concrete construals of objects/events. A low-level construal captures the secondary and nondefining aspects of an object/event. An aspect is defining for an object/event if its omission or alteration changes the meaning of the object/event for the perceiver. In this sense, the content of a construal is idiosyncratic, because the meaning of an object/event can vary from one person to another.

CLT assumes that the association between psychological distance and level of construal evolves as a result of differences in what people typically know about proximal and distant experiences. Information about secondary or nondefining aspects of events, including the context in which they will occur, typically becomes more available and reliable as people become psychologically closer and have more direct experience with objects/ events. As a result, primary and defining information about objects/events often receives the most attention when people are psychologically far from experiencing them. The many secondary and nondefining aspects of objects/events are considered only as people become closer to experiencing them. For example, when people are planning a vacation, they typically resolve issues regarding their destination and mode of travel (primary concerns) long before the vacation is set to occur, whereas issues regarding meals and clothing (secondary concerns) are not resolved until they are actually on vacation.

CLT assumes that the association between psychological distance and level of construal is overgeneralized, causing people to continue to form high-level construals for psychologically distant objects/events and low-level construals for psychologically near objects/events, even when information about the secondary aspects is reliable. So, even in situations in which information about the secondary and primary aspects of an object/ event is known to be reliable, individuals with a psychologically distant perspective will still construe information about the object/event in a more abstract fashion, focusing more on the primary or defining aspects of the object/ event. For example, as attending a U2 concert gets closer in time, low-level, secondary features such as "the quality of the food served at the concession stands" are likely to become more prominent relative to more central features of the concert such as "the quality of the opening act."

Because CLT assumes that a generalized association exists between level of con- strual and psychological distance, objects/ events that are construed in higher-level terms are thought to be perceived as more psychologically distant, and objects/events that are construed in lower-level terms are thought to be perceived as more psychologically proximal. For example, as a homework assignment is construed in lower-level, more concrete terms, individuals are likely to experience the deadline for the assignment as closer time.

Research continues to explore the relationship between psychological distance and level of construal and its impact on judgments, evaluations, and behavior.

- MDH, YT