Psychological distance to the (Un)familiar

Abstract

Objects or events can be represented on different construal levels depending on the degree to which they are removed from the now and here. Construal level theory (CLT) states that psychologically distal entities are mentally construed on a higher, more abstract level than proximal ones are. Building on the original premise of CLT, this study proposes that individuals’ accumulated experience with an entity or an event changes the way they perceive and process them, and that high-level familiarity with an entity evokes abstraction in its construal. In four experimental studies, we examine how individuals’ previous exposure to an entity influences evaluation, construal, and psychological distance. The empirical findings suggest that individuals’ familiarity with an entity affects its construal; and a match between construal mindset and knowledge level makes individuals perceive the target event or object closer (study 1). The second finding is that high-level familiarity increases the salience of ends-related, core features of entities and makes superordinate features more relevant to the decision-makers compared to means-related, peripheral features (study 2). The following studies (study 3 and 4) reveal that the evaluation process and the nature of the construed entity are important as well. This study establishes familiarity and subjective knowledge as critical factors, which can reverse the typical relationship between construal level and psychological distance in several occasions. We also underline other potential factors, such as selfesteem, that may have an influence on the construal process.