Construal level theory (CLT) offers a valuable framework to explain the mechanisms that trigger evaluations, predictions, and behaviors by linking degree of mental abstraction (the construal level) psychological distance. CLT-related research has produced numerous publications in variety domains, impeding an ongoing overview field limiting its advancement. Addressing this concern, our paper pre...

One of the most enduring findings from branding research is that consumers evaluate brand extensions on the basis of their perceived fit with the parent brand. In this article, we propose that the importance of perceived fit in extension evaluations is moderated by construal level. We draw upon construal level theory, which posits that individuals can construe stimuli in their environments in t...

Psychological causes of social distance were examined from the perspective of Construal Level Theory (CLT; Liberman, Trope, & Stephan, 2007), which predicts that temporal distance from and abstract construal of a social target would create perception of social distance. Our studies demonstrate that expectations for temporally remote (versus proximal) social interaction produce greater social di...

Face recognition and identification are optimized by holistic processing. Various visual-spatial manipulations appear to have transfer effects on holistic face processing. The present experiment tests the effects of a semantic manipulation--of construal level--on holistic processing as measured by composite congruency effects. Participants completed two blocks of trials. The first served as a b...

How one thinks about or conceptualizes a goal has important consequences for the motivational features of goal pursuit. Two experiments tested the hypothesis, inspired by work on meaning in life, action identification theory, and expectancy-value theory, that high-level construal of an academic goal should enhance motivation to pursue that goal. In each experiment, we manipulated highlevel vers...

The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) is part of the mentalizing network, a set of brain regions consistently engaged in inferring mental states. However, its precise function in this network remains unclear. It has recently been proposed that the dmPFC is involved in high-level abstract (i.e., categorical) identification or construction of both social and non-social stimuli, referred to as...

Abstract Several studies in consumer behavior have focused on consumers’ shopping orientation terms of hedonic and utilitarian shopping. The present research advances a different perspective examining orientations with the theoretical lenses construal-level theory. Results from two indicate that hedonism relates to higher utilitarianism lower construal levels (Study 1). Consequently, individual...

Several authors have shown how communication using digital devices influences the experience of psychological distance. For instance, the hyperaccessibility associated with mobile phones reduces the felt distance between people who are separated by geographical space (Cummings et al., 2001; Sommer, 2002; Turkle, 2006; Katz and Byrne, 2013). This paper discusses how interpersonal distance, i.e.,...