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Seeing far: Abstract construal and visual distance judgments.
1Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada. e34chan@torontomu.ca.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|May 11, 2023
Summary
Abstract thinking makes people perceive physical objects as farther away. This psychological distance also influences judgments of an object's size and weight, broadening Construal Level Theory.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Perception
Background:
- Mental travel is linked to psychological distance across various dimensions (time, social, hypotheticality, space).
- Abstract construal, a key component of mental travel, is associated with increased psychological distance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if abstract construal influences judgments of perceived visual distance.
- To explore the downstream effects of abstract construal on perceptions of physical properties like size and weight.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis.
- Participants engaged in abstract construal tasks.
- Judgments of visual distance, size, and weight of targets were recorded.
Main Results:
- Abstract construal led to targets in the visual field being judged as physically farther away.
- The increased sense of distance influenced subsequent inferences about target size and weight.
- Evidence supports a causal link between abstract construal and perceived visual distance.
Conclusions:
- Abstract construal directly impacts the perception of physical distance in the visual field.
- This effect extends to related inferences about object properties, deepening Construal Level Theory.
- Findings have practical implications for understanding reasoning about physical object properties.
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