Studies examining humor in psychiatric disorders have elucidated the affective and cognitive components that are essential in understanding and appreciating humor. Both cognitive executive functioning (e.g., verbal fluency, set shifting) and the ability to mentalize dramatically impact the ability to understand and appreciate humor. Emotional components, such as mood states and traits, which af...

What is the difference between far and further? Investigations into such psychological distancing--removal from an egocentric reference point--have suggested similarities between geographical space, time, probability, and social distance. We draw on these similarities to propose that experiencing any kind of distance will reduce sensitivity to any other distance. Nine studies varied the initial...

C. Murphy Horizon Digital Economy Research Jubilee Campus, University of Nottingham Nottingham [email protected]. uk R. J. Houghton Horizon Digital Economy Research Jubilee Campus, University of Nottingham Nottingham +44 (0) 115 8232587 Robert.Houghton@Nottingham. ac.uk A. Spence Horizon Digital Economy Research Jubilee Campus, University of Nottingham Nottingham +44 (0) 115 8232585 A...

This paper examines the possibility that fluency – the subjective experience of ease or difficulty associated with cognitive processing – has an impact on the psychological distance of stimuli. Two studies directly examine the relationship between fluency and psychological distance. Five additional studies look at the implications of that relationship.

Traversing psychological distance involves going beyond direct experience, and includes planning, perspective taking, and contemplating counterfactuals. Consistent with this view, temporal, spatial, and social distances as well as hypotheticality are associated, affect each other, and are inferred from one another. Moreover, traversing all distances involves the use of abstraction, which we def...