Distance and abstraction
Psychological distance can be temporal, spatial, social or hypothetical. An event next year is usually pictured in terms of its general purpose, while the same event tomorrow is pictured in terms of practical details. The theory treats these forms of distance as related, so that one kind can affect thinking about another.
Consequences
People tend to weigh a decision's desirability when it is far off and its feasibility as it approaches. This offers one explanation for why commitments that seemed appealing months ago can feel like a burden when the date arrives. The theory has been applied to planning, negotiation and consumer decisions.
How solid is it?
A meta-analysis found a moderate overall link between distance and abstract thinking. As in many social psychology literatures, however, researchers have raised concerns about publication bias and small samples, and larger preregistered tests are needed to know how strong these effects are in everyday life.
Further reading
- Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2010). Construal-level theory of psychological distance. Psychological Review, 117, 440-463.
- Soderberg, C. K., Callahan, S. P., Kochersberger, A. O., Amit, E., & Ledgerwood, A. (2015). The effects of psychological distance on abstraction: Two meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 141, 525-548.