Theories in Social Psychology, 2nd Edition

6 Construal Level Theory: Psychological Distance and Construal

Victor Grandison and Mary Chadee

When someone in our community loses their life due to a violent robbery, we are likely to be very disturbed. However, we are relatively less disturbed by comparatively worse tragedies if they occur in locations that are geographically distant (e.g., see Blanchard et al., 2004; Huddy et al., 2005; Williams & Bargh, 2008). Scenarios such as this have long provoked the curiosity of social scientists. In that, our proximity to objects and scenarios appears to have an effect on our behavior. Researchers have come to interpret this effect of distance from objects as psychological distance (e.g., Lewin, 1951; Liberman et al., 2007; Stephan et al., 2011; Trope & Liberman, 2010). Building upon the Lewinian concept of psychological distance, Liberman et al. (2007) explained that psychologically distant objects are “things that are not present in the direct experience of reality”. In this regard, psychological distance from an object increases as an individual is further removed from said object.¹

It might well be argued that Construal Level Theory (CLT) represents the most extensive attempt at understanding the effect of psychological distance on human behavior. However, to fully appreciate the tenets of CLT and its applications, it would be necessary to review its core contributing theories and concepts.

Early Works – Psychological Distance & Time Discounting

To a considerable degree, ...