Abstract Mindset Research Articles

Seeing the Trees: How a Concrete versus Abstract Mindset Improves Performance on Low-Level Assurance Tasks

ABSTRACT Prior research shows that individuals benefit from abstract construals when performing broader high-level assurance tasks. We extend this research by studying the effects of different construal mindsets on skepticism and performance in a low-level assurance task setting. Using a sample of 195 online participants, we find that individuals benefit from concrete (versus abstract) mindsets when performing low-level assurance tasks because concrete construals better allow them to focus on detailed evidence that may contradict client assertions. Specifically, we show that assurance providers who utilize a concrete (abstract) construal mindset when performing a low-level task display better (worse) skeptical judgments and actions. Taken together with findings from past research, our results support the notion that assurance providers should utilize the construal mindset that best matches the characteristics of the task at hand. Exploratory analysis suggests that client retention incentives may moderate the relationship between skeptical judgment and skeptical action in our context. Data Availability: Data are available from the authors upon request.

Breaking self-focused orientation in people who perceive economic scarcity: The influence of transcendent motivation to promote an abstract mindset and prosocial behavioral intentions.

Previous research shows that being in a situation of economic scarcity promotes a more concrete mindset that motivates behavioral decisions based on action difficulty and their short-term outcomes, which frequently entails negative consequences. However, a concrete mindset can be counteracted by inducing an abstract mindset to help people focus on final broad goals. We explored how focusing on transcendent motives (vs. self-oriented) promotes a more abstract mindset facilitating prosocial behavioral intentions. Study 1 (pre-post design) explored whether focusing on transcendent motives for engaging in activities promoted a more abstract mindset compared to focusing on self-oriented motives. Using a 2 × 2 design with two consecutive opposing primes, Study 2 tested how inducing a transcendent orientation could reverse the effect caused by perceiving economic scarcity, promoting greater orientation toward others and prosocial behavioral intentions. In Study 1 participants who generated transcendent motives for behaviors presented a greater increase in the abstraction of construal level, compared to those who only generated self-oriented motives for the same behaviors. Study 2 demonstrated that, when participants who perceived economic scarcity were focused on transcendent motives (vs. self-oriented) to promote a more abstract mindset, their orientation toward others increased. Interestingly, for people perceiving economic scarcity, whose own difficulties could reduce prosocial behaviors, the greater orientation toward others promoted a greater intention to engage in demanding prosocial behaviors. We provide evidence of new strategies to promote abstraction in individuals and increase their involvement in prosocial behavioral intentions, especially for those perceiving economic scarcity.

Using mindsets to boost health: how construal level and goal pursuit shape health message effectiveness on cessation behaviors

Purpose This research examines how construal level shapes the effectiveness of rational (vs emotional) messages for inducing cessation behaviors. Concrete mindsets foster self-improvement goals, whereas abstract mindsets boost self-relevance goals. Design/methodology/approach In four studies, this research examines the moderating role of construal level on health messages and the underlying mechanism of goal pursuit. Findings Results demonstrate that concrete (vs abstract) mindsets increase consumers’ intent to engage in cessation behaviors when exposed to rational (vs emotional) messages. Consistent with this study’s theorizing, the authors found that self-improvement goals underlie the effects for concrete mindsets, whereas self-relevance goals mediate the effects for abstract mindsets. Research limitations/implications The reported effects are limited to health messages focusing on cessation behaviors. Practical implications This research can help public policymakers to design more effective health messages to foster specific cessation behaviors – quitting smoking and reducing drinking – focusing on concrete (vs abstract) mindsets and rational (vs emotional) messages. Originality/value This investigation highlights construal level as an important moderator for message appeals (rational vs emotional) on cessation behaviors, along with the underlying mechanism of goal pursuit, thus contributing to health marketing literature.

Regulatory focus and construal level theory on low-income consumer indebtedness: Evidence from an emerging market

PurposeThis study aims to further analyse the decision-making process of low-income consumer from an emerging market by verifying the influence of regulatory focus and construal level theory on indebtedness.Design/methodology/approachAn experimental study was carried out with a design 2 (regulatory focus: promotion vs prevention) × 2 (psychological distance: high vs low) between subjects, with 140 low-income consumers.FindingsOur study points out that the propensity towards indebtedness of low-income consumer is higher in a distal psychological distance. We found that promotion and prevention groups have the same propensity to indebtedness. Moreover, we highlight that low-income consumers are prone to propensity to indebtedness due to taking decisions focused on the present with an abstract mindset.Social implicationsFinancial awareness advertisements should focus on providing more concrete strategies in order to reduce decision-making complexity and provide ways to reduce competing situations that could deplete self-regulation resources. Also, public policy should organize educational programs to increase the low-income consumer's ability to deal with personal finances and reduce this task complexity. Finally, educational financial programs should also incorporate psychology professionals to teach mindfulness techniques applied to financial planning.Originality/valueThis study is the first to consider regulatory focus and construal level to explain low-income indebtedness. This paper provides a deeper analysis of the low-income consumers' decision process. Also, it supports and guides future academic and decision-making efforts.

A Latent Allocation Model for Brand Awareness and Mindset Metrics

Mindset metrics, the measurement of consumers’ perceptions, attitudes, and intentions, have a long tradition in marketing, particularly in advertising and branding. Some of the most usual mindset metrics are brand awareness, brand image, personality traits, and attribute importance. Brand awareness and other mindset measures have the form of texts (bag of words). And, a natural methodology for analyzing these variables is topic modeling and the popular Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) model. The LDA methodology assumes that brands or concepts are represented by clusters of brands in consumers’ minds. This study proposes an extension/modification of the LDA model for brand awareness and other mindset variables that incorporate Bernoulli observations instead of the Multinomial specification present in the usual LDA specification. This extension is relevant since, unlike words in texts, brands and mindset concepts are not repeated within a document and have a dichotomous form, present or absent. The proposed model is applied to two brand awareness datasets. The results show significant gains in both managerial insights in analyzing brand clusters and consumers’ profiles.

Awe in Advertising: The Mediating Role of an Abstract Mindset

Awe represents a powerful positive emotion that has received limited examination in the advertising context. The present research draws on construal-level theory to shed light on when and how awe increases persuasion. Across five experimental studies, we show that the effect of awe elicits an abstract mindset and, therefore, increases advertising persuasiveness when the advertised product emphasizes desirability features and is perceived as temporally distant. The findings offer insights about how awe influences advertising effectiveness that was heretofore lacking. Theoretical contributions and practical implications for leveraging emotional appeals in advertising are discussed.

Do mindsets help in controlling eye gaze? A study to explore the effect of abstract and concrete mindsets on eye movements control

Research on construal level theory shows the influence of abstract and concrete mindsets on self-control. These studies indicate that in the abstract mindset people have more self-control than in the concrete mindset. Though some studies have been carried out on behavioral control as well, however, the influence of mindsets on eye movement control has not been explored. Aiming to explore this relationship, two experiments were conducted on university students using an eye-tracker. The mindsets of participants in both the experiments were manipulated by the temporal distancing technique. To test eye movement control, experiment 1 used an anti-saccade task, in which the participants were asked to look away from the target, while experiment 2 used a visual search task where participants were asked to make goal-directed eye movements and avoid any distraction. The results of both the experiments showed that participants tended to have more control over their eye movement during the abstract mindset than the concrete mindset. This shows that mindsets not only help in controlling thoughts and general behaviors but also influence eye movements and govern what to look and where to look. Results are discussed in the light of self-control and construal level theory.

Effects of consumers’ construal levels on post-impulse purchase emotions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how abstract vs concrete mindsets impact consumers’ post-purchase affective states. Drawing on construal level theory, the study examines when consumers experience “pleasure” or “guilt” after impulse buying.Design/methodology/approachThe basic premises of this research was tested using multiple studies. Study 1 was conducted in the field, the second study engaged an online survey, while the third study used a laboratory experiment.FindingsAfter impulse buying, consumers with abstract mindsets reported strong feelings of pleasure, whereas those with concrete mindsets experienced profound guilt.Research limitations/implicationsResearch on affective responses (i.e. pleasure and guilt) following impulse purchase is limited. However, the present study helps understand an important research question: when do consumers feel pleasure (or guilt) after impulse buying?Practical implicationsMarketers can frame messages that align with abstract mindsets to enhance pleasure and reduce guilt after impulse buying.Social implicationsPolicymakers can persuade consumers to refrain from making impulsive decisions through communication that reminds them of past impulse purchase behaviour, by triggering a concrete mindset.Originality/valueThis research extends the literature on post-purchase effects by demonstrating that consumers’ mindsets determine the intensity of their affective state after impulse buying.

Relieving the regret for maximizers

PurposePrior research consistently found maximizers to experience greater regret over their choice than satisficers. Moreover, research also found maximizers to be trapped in a “maximization-regret-maximization” cycle. This paper aims to assess the role of construal level theory in alleviating regret felt by maximizers.Design/methodology/approachThe authors examine the construal level theory (CLT) in conjunction with the choice context (comparable and non-comparable choices). Three experimental studies tested our assertion that a match between CLT mindset and choice set relieves regret for maximizers.FindingsThe authors show maximizers experience similar levels of regret compared to satisficers when considering comparable options in a concrete mindset, and non-comparable options in an abstract mindset. However, maximizers experience heightened regret in comparison to satisficers when considering non-comparable (comparable) options in a concrete (abstract) mindset. Choice difficulty mediates our effect.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research is needed to replicate our results in real-life settings.Practical implicationsIf marketers think that their product is likely to be compared with other comparable products, they should adopt product-specific information that focusses on how the product would be used. However, if marketers think that consumers will compare across non-comparable products, then they should focus on why their product is the most suitable to fulfil consumers’ needs.Originality/valueThis research represents the first attempt at reducing regret for maximizers and answers the call for an examination of the relationship between maximization and CLT. The research adds to the maximization literature by evidencing a CLT-based strategy that attenuates the negative experience of regret for maximizers.

Does an Abstract Mind-Set Increase the Internal Consistency of Moral Attitudes and Strengthen Individualizing Foundations?

Recent research suggests that experimentally inducing an abstract (vs. a concrete) mind-set enhances political sophistication by increasing the consistency in political attitudes; it also enhances individualizing moral foundations and decreases binding moral foundations. However, the evidence is mixed regarding whether abstract mind-set increases or decreases the strength of moral convictions in general. In this context, the aim of this study was 2-fold. In two preregistered studies on U.S. American and Turkish samples (aggregate N = 694), we tested (1) whether abstract mind-set increases the consistency in moral convictions, similar to the case of political attitudes, and (2) whether inducing an abstract mind-set increases individualizing and decreases binding foundations. The results did not provide support for any of the hypotheses and the past findings were not reproduced. Potential implications of these findings for construal level theory literature are discussed.

The presence of copycat private labels in a product set increases consumers' choice ease when shopping with an abstract mindset

This research demonstrates how the presence of copycat private labels (CCPLs) on retail shelves can positively affect consumers' shopping experience. Adopting a construal level theoretical perspective, Experiment 1 shows that when consumers shop with an abstract mindset, the presence (vs. absence) of CCPLs in a product set positively affects choice ease. Experiment 2 replicates this finding using different stimuli, manipulation of abstract mindset, and measure of choice ease. Experiment 3 demonstrates that the presence of CCPLs due to perceptions of similarity, substitutability, and simplicity positively influences choice ease and attitude toward the chosen product for those with an abstract mindset through conditional mediation. Experiment 4 extends these findings to practice by showing that when consumers shop at a far distance (i.e., ten feet), the presence of CCPLs once again positively affects choice ease and subsequent attitude toward the chosen product. The theoretical and practical contributions of this research are discussed.

Does Abstract Mindset Decrease or Increase Deception?

Abstract. Past research produced mixed results regarding the effect of abstract/concrete mindset on the moral judgment of hypothetical scenarios. I argued that an abstract mindset could decrease or increase deception as different lines of research suggested that the effect could be in both directions. In four experiments, three different paradigms were used to manipulate mindset and its effect on participants’ own deceptive behavior was examined. Abstract mindset manipulation increased the level of deception in Study 1 and 2, but not in Study 3. Study 4 provided an opposite result as abstractness decreased deception. The results suggested that mindset manipulation might trigger multiple mechanisms having contradictory effects. I argued that future research should account for these mechanisms and individual differences in understanding the effect of abstract mindset on moral decision-making.

Abstract Mindset Increases Consistency In Political Attitudes

Abstract Mindset Increases Consistency In Political Attitudes

Besting the status quo: the effect of abstract versus concrete mindsets on emotional trade-off difficulty and avoidant coping behavior

Building on past emotional trade-off difficulty and construal level research, we investigate the conditions under which consumers engage in avoidant coping behavior to reduce negative emotions that arise from trading off valued attributes (e.g., quality and price). Results from three studies offer evidence that an abstract (vs. concrete) mindset systematically decreases avoidant coping behavior (e.g., the selection of a status quo option) by reducing the intensity of the negative emotion consumers experience. This effect replicates across construal level manipulations and product categories. Thus, in addition to the harmful effects of negative emotions and coping behavior on consumer choice identified in past research, we find that an abstract (vs. concrete) mindset can help consumers make better (i.e., more normative) choices. Together, these findings have implications for marketers of new or unfamiliar products as well as products that are not incumbents or category leaders (i.e., status quo options) when consumers face difficult trade-offs.

Looking Back to the Future: Time Strata and Economic Analysis

Abstract In mainstream economics cultural differences, habits and mind-sets are considered to be reflected in the institutional setting. To reintroduce historical time, we combine the concept of path dependency with the concept of time strata; instead of explaining a fact isolated from its historical conditionality, the perspective moves from a contemporary phenomenon to several paths incorporated in it and questions their time-differentiated interlocking, mutual influence and conditioning. At the same time, the direction of the perspective changes: the path is analysed from today to yesterday. We use this approach to explain the particular current economic situation in Germany: namely, the strength in manufacturing and in global exports. JEL Codes: B5, N0, O1

An abstract mind is a principled one: Abstract mindset increases consistency in responses to political attitude scales

Past literature suggested that not everyone is politically sophisticated. In the current research, it is proposed that an experimental manipulation of abstract mindset would decrease variation in responses to political attitude scales and render individuals more internally consistent in their political attitudes. Three hypotheses are proposed: (1) Abstract mindset would lower within-subject standard deviations (SDs) and increase Cronbach's alphas in responses to political attitude scales; (2) decrease in SDs could not be attributed to a response bias; and (3) abstract mindset would lower SDs even after controlling for differences in mean scores on those scales. In seven experiments, five different paradigms were used to manipulate abstractness and four different political scales were used as dependent measures on samples from two distinct cultures (US and Turkey). Analyses of individual studies and an aggregate analysis of combined data supported all hypotheses and showed that abstract mindset decreases SDs and increases Cronbach's alpha scores in self-reported political attitudes. Results suggest that abstract mindset enhances apparent political sophistication by highlighting core political beliefs behind different attitudinal statements. Implications for construal level theory and political sophistication research are discussed.

A Mindset Theory of Career Success

Mindsets are assumptions about the malleability of the personal attributes that guide human behavior. In this paper we propose that mindsets influence how people perceive situational cues in the wo...

Effects of metaphor advertising on brand extension evaluation: Construal level as mediator

Drawing on construal level theory, we investigated the effects of metaphor advertising on consumers' construal level and brand extension evaluations in 2 empirical studies. Participants in each study were 140 Chinese undergraduate students. The results revealed that both visual (Study 1) and verbal (Study 2) metaphor advertising increased participants' abstract mindset. Further, metaphor advertising enhanced their evaluation of brand extensions that were a good fit and reduced that of poor fit brand extensions. Moreover, the degree of abstractness of the mindset acted as a mediator in this effect. Our findings have both theoretical and practical implications for marketing products via the strategy of brand extension.

Predictors for Growth Mindset and Sense of Belonging in College Students

Mindset and sense of belonging are important predictors for college student success. Mindset refers to beliefs on how or whether intelligence can grow with time and effort. Belonging refers to students' sense of being respected and supported in their college environment. We measure several dimensions of mindset and belonging and educational and demographic background information for more than 2,000 students at two four-year universities including a public and a private university. We estimate factor analysis models to construct measures for mindset and belonging and we explore predictors for these including educational and demographic characteristics and frequency of instructor feedback to students. We find that formative instructor feedback on writing leads to improvements in mindset, belonging, perseverance, and confidence. We also find that frequent feedback on writing improves students' mindset regarding mathematics. We also find explanatory power from semesters in college, parents' educational attainment, race, and students' chosen fields of study.

Abstract Mindsets Increase Believability of Spatially Distant Online Messages.

Growing evidence from online credibility research reveals that online users rely on heuristic processes to evaluate the credibility of online information. The current paper, which is based on the construal level theory (CLT), proposes that congruency between the psychological distance of a stimulus and the way it is mentally construed can act as a heuristic for believability. According to CLT, psychologically close (e.g., spatially, temporally, socially) stimuli are represented concretely whereas psychologically distant stimuli are represented abstractly. The level of mental construals and the psychological distance of information have been shown to influence people’s truth judgments in offline contexts. This study tests whether congruency between the construal level of people’s mindsets (abstract vs. concrete) and the psychological distance implied in an online message (far vs. close) enhances message believability. By partially confirming CLT predictions, we found that believability of an online news item about a distant location increased when people maintained an abstract mindset rather than a concrete one. The effect of a concrete mindset on believability was not significant for the close psychological distance condition. Our findings provide initial evidence that congruency between the construal level of people’s mindsets and psychological distance cues in online messages can act as a heuristic for believability. We discuss the potential of applying the CLT framework to the growing literature on online cognitive heuristics in the area of online information credibility.