Low Construal Level Research Articles

The sequence of manipulation matters: Abstract thinking offsets ego-depletion when induced before, but not after a depleting task

Based on theoretical and empirical studies dealing with the facilitation and inhibiting effects of different psychic distances (low vs. high construal-level), we tested if the exhibition of self-control under a high construal-level is a more efficient and less resource exhausting mode, compared to the exhibition of self-control under a low construal level. Prior studies already showed that the execution of self-control results in a lower construal-level and a high construal-level has facilitating effects on self-control. We expand upon these studies by: 1. operationalizing the whole process of ego-depletion through two sequential self-control tasks, 2. combining one ego-depletion and one construal-level manipulation in a 2 by 2 design and 3. varying the sequence of manipulations. In Experiment 1, we examined how the manipulation of the participants before and after being depleted, affects the self-control performance in a final task. In Experiment 2, we re-tested the offset of ego-depletion on another self-control measurement, with the condition of a high construal-level manipulated first. In Experiment 1 the ego-depletion effect remained existent when the construal-level was manipulated after the execution of self-control in a stroop test, but it was offset, when the construal-level was manipulated before the stoop test. Drawing on measurements of the perceived available self-control resources in Experiment 2, we were able to rule out an alternative approach, explaining similar results by an attentional shift towards reduced resources under low construal-level.

A Cross-Sectional Study of University Nursing Students Construal Level and Core Values in Learning English as Foreign Language in Taiwan

Professional nursing core values are important for nursing education and clinical practice. Among the core values, communication is a crucial one, and learning languages is especially beneficial to this skill. However, core values in learning a language are rarely discussed in the field. This study attempts to explore the core values perceived by university nursing students when learning English as a foreign language. A cross-sectional survey of students’ construal levels and perceptions of their core values was designed. Two instruments of Behavior Identification Form and English Learning Construal Scale were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were conducted to analyze quantitative and qualitative data respectively. In total, 200 participants were randomly recruited from a nursing university in Taiwan. The results show the BIF (M = 15.02; SD = 4.02) corresponded to the previous research, although the scores implied an improvement opportunity. Four themes—career development, university studies, self-responsibly, and personal well-beings—were illustrated, and 13 codes of core values of learning English were further categorized. An alternative perspective of high vs. low construal levels was suggested to view the professional core values. Teaching implications were then discussed.

Emotional Cues’ Effects on Grotesque Advertising

A growing literature is examining the potential of grotesque advertising. The aim of this study is to examine whether curiosity or boredom cues in a grotesque advertisement are more effective at enhancing brand attitude and how this effect is moderated by consumers’ construal level. Across three experimental studies, this research shows that a curiosity cue will be more effective among consumers with a high construal level, whereas a boredom cue will be more effective among consumers with a low construal level (Study 1 and an ancillary study, Study 2). Further, perceived fit (based on construal level) mediates these effects (Study 2). This study thus offers a fresh theoretical viewpoint on the efficacy of emotional advertising cues in enhancing consumer evaluations of grotesque advertising by investigating the moderating role of consumers’ construal level. These findings benefit marketers in developing effective advertising strategies featuring grotesque imagery.

Detecting regime shifts: the role of construal levels on system neglect

ABSTRACT Decision-makers overreact to noisy signals and underestimate base rates when predicting regime shift due to system neglect. Based on Construal Level (CL) Theory, I posit that a high CL reduces overreactions in stable and high-noise environments but exacerbates underreactions in unstable and low-noise environments relative to individuals with low CLs. My experimental results support this hypothesis, demonstrating that the interaction between individuals’ mindsets and signals’ properties systematically impact over and underreactions when detecting regime shifts.

CSR ads matter to luxury fashion brands: a construal level approach to understand Gen Z consumers' eWOM on social media

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the interaction effect of perceived psychological distance toward the luxury brand and construal level of the CSR ad content on young consumers' perceptions toward the CSR ad (i.e. ad-brand congruency and perceived trust on CSR ad). This study also investigates the mediation effects of ad-brand congruency and trust on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intention on social media.Design/methodology/approachA two (low vs great psychological distance) by two (low vs high construal level) between-subjects experimental study is conducted with samples of social media users (n = 570) in the United States. Participants were randomly assigned to view one of the four CSR ads and instructed to respond to questions in the survey. The proposed hypotheses are tested using moderated serial mediation.FindingsThe interaction between psychological distance and construal level significantly influences ad-brand congruency. When participants view detailed information content (i.e. low construal level) with an accessible luxury brand (i.e. low psychological distance) in the CSR ad, they are more likely to perceive the ad is congruent with the brand compared to the CSR ad with abstract information content. There is no difference in ad-brand congruency for the aspiration luxury brand according to different content (i.e. low vs great construal level). Importantly, however, for both brands, the results reveal dual roles of the ad-brand congruency which increases eWOM intention directly and indirectly through trust. Findings confirm serial mediation effects of ad-brand congruency and CSR trust on the eWOM intention on social media.Originality/valueBy uncovering the interaction effect of psychological distance and construal level on ad-brand congruency, this study implicates how luxury fashion brands need to differently create CSR ad content. Our findings confirm dual ways of information processing that lead to positive engagement (i.e. eWOM) on social media, particularly among young consumers.

How does money phrasing influence intention to donate: The role of construal level and fit

AbstractCharitable causes and monetary donation requests are two indispensable components of fundraising messages. A wealth of research focused on the effect of charitable cause phrasing on donation. However, few researchers explored the phrasing of monetary donation requests associated. Since past research suggested that different money phrasing could activate different construal levels, we propose that if the construal levels activated by charitable cause and money phrasing are aligned (misaligned), charitable giving intentions and amount may increase (decrease). In a series of six studies, we adopt various manipulations of charitable cause phrasing and monetary donation request phrasing, examine different donation targets, and measure donation intentions and amount. We verified the proposed fit effect that if participants encountered low construal level charitable causes, they would engage in higher donation intentions when the monetary donation request phrasing triggers a concrete mindset (i.e., a specific amount of money with specific usage) rather than an abstract mindset (i.e., a specific amount of money), while if they encountered high construal level charitable causes, this impact reversed.

How does a brand's psychological distance in an advergame influence brand memory of the consumers?

AbstractAdvergames are computer games through which marketers promote their brands. While many studies have explored the influence of gamification of advertising, little is known about the nature of the consumer‐brand interaction and its effect on consumers' cognitive reactions. We address this gap by conducting three experiments in which we manipulate (a) consumers' level of message construal depending upon their interactions with the brands to complete game tasks, and (b) regulatory focus (RF) (individual‐level and game‐induced). We measure the effects on consumers' brand memory and also examine the mediating role of flow experience. Different samples comprising of post‐graduate students and adults are used in the experiments. Results reveal that a low (vs. high) construal level yields stronger brand memory. Also, a fit between RF (promotion and prevention) and construal level (high and low) results in better brand memory. Flow experience mediates the effects of the independent variables on brand memory.

The Effects of Competence and Warmth Appeals on Luxury and Sustainable Brand Advertising: The Moderating Role of Construal Level

This research examines how warmth and competence advertising can be effectively utilized in luxury and sustainable brand advertising. Across four experimental studies, this research shows diametrically opposite “match-up” effects between advertising appeals and construal levels for luxury and sustainable brands. For a luxury brand, consumers show favorable evaluations when a warmth (competence) appeal is combined with a high (low) construal level. In contrast, for a sustainable brand, consumers show favorable evaluations when a competence (warmth) appeal is combined with a high (low) construal level. Further, these match-up effects are mediated by two distinct mechanisms: brand admiration (a high construal level) and processing fluency (a low construal level). Theoretical and managerial implications from these findings are discussed.

A construal level analysis of organizational change processes

To effectively manage planned change and understand differences in leaders’ and recipients’ responses to it, it is essential to understand how change is cognitively represented by organization members. In this theory-development article, we draw upon construal-level theory (CLT) and conceptually explore the role of change construal level in explaining responses to organizational change. We discuss differences between change leaders’ and recipients’ change construals, and differences in the relationships between change construal level and the response to change as a function of the change activities taking place. Specifically, we argue that high-level (i.e., abstract) construals of change will facilitate the effective initiation of change when the focus is on equilibrium-breaking activities, and that low-level (i.e., concrete) construals will facilitate the effective implementation of change when the focus is on institutionalization of the change. We further propose that leaders’ engagement in visionary leadership increases the likelihood that their generally higher level construal of change will be integrated into recipients’ change construals, elaborating and elevating them, and that recipients’ engagement in upward prohibitive voice behaviors will increase the likelihood that their generally lower construal of change will be integrated into leaders’ change construals, elaborating and concretizing them. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of our framework.

Construal level theory and escalation of commitment

Escalation of commitment causes people to continue a failing course of action. We study the role of construal level in such escalation of commitment. Consistent with the widely held view of construal level as a primed effect, we employed a commonly used prime for manipulating this construct in a laboratory experiment. Our findings revealed that the prime failed to produce statistically significant differences in construal level, which was measured using the Behavior Identification Form (BIF). Furthermore, there was no effect of the prime on escalation of commitment, or on constructs that have previously been linked to construal level such as the perceived importance of feasibility considerations relative to desirability considerations, and the number of pros and cons that subjects can think of.Interestingly, however, subjects’ actual construal level scores on the BIF were found to significantly affect escalation. Specifically, our findings show that people with a low construal level are less willing to continue a failing project. This relation is mediated by the perceived importance of the feasibility of the project relative to its desirability. For people with a low construal level, the perceived importance of feasibility relative to desirability is higher, which in turn makes escalation of commitment less likely.Our findings are consistent with prior research suggesting that priming construal level may not always be effective. Thus, while construal level has typically been regarded as a state-like variable that can be primed, in this study, we show that construal level may also be considered as a trait.

The stages‐of‐change approach for prosocial behavior: Message tailoring to encourage blood donation

AbstractThis research applied the Trans‐Theoretical Model and the Construal Level Theory to framing messages for blood donation. People can be at different degrees of readiness for blood donation and are, therefore, dispersed into discrete stages of change. These stages of change correspond to varying psychological distances that define the extent to which a person's thinking on the suggested behavior is abstract (high construal level) or concrete (low construal level). Differences in psychological distance thus affect whether individuals focus on how easy it is to donate blood (feasibility) or on why it is important to donate blood (desirability) in the ad message. This research conducted two studies using a 2 (types of message: feasibility vs. desirability—manipulated) × 3 (stages of change: pre‐contemplation vs. contemplation/preparation vs. action/maintenance—measured) between‐subject, randomly assigned factorial design experiment. The results of both studies showed that for individuals in the pre‐contemplation stage, desirability, rather than feasibility, messages were more likely to produce favorable attitudes toward the ad, its sponsoring organization, and blood donation behavior itself, whereas the opposite was true for those in the action/maintenance stage. Those differences were weakened or not observed for those in the contemplation/preparation stage. These patterns of interaction were not replicated for behavioral intention. Collectively, these findings suggest that tailoring a message according to the intended audience's stage of change should promote positive attitudes for blood donation. Meanwhile, future research is needed to bridge the attitude‐behavior gap when it comes to blood donation.

Psychological distance from environmental pollution and willingness to participate in second-hand online transactions: An experimental survey in China

Second-hand online trading platforms support the transaction of previously used but still serviceable goods. Consequently, they provide an economically efficient alternative to consumers and help reduce the excessive consumption of resources. This study conducts two experimental surveys to investigate whether consumers’ psychological distance (PD) from environmental pollution influences their willingness to participate in second-hand online transactions and whether the former can be influenced by a stimulus with different construal levels. Moreover, we examine the moderating effect of outcome framing on the relationship between consumers’ PD from environmental pollution and willingness to participate in second-hand online transactions. The results obtained from 261 valid participants in Study 1 indicate that consumers’ PD from environmental pollution is negatively related to their willingness to participate in second-hand online transactions. That is, individuals who are psychologically proximate to environmental pollution have high awareness of the environment and are more willing to participate in second-hand online transactions. Furthermore, a stimulus with different construal levels leads to different PDs from environmental pollution and varying degrees of second-hand online transaction intention. Specifically, pictures with low construal level cause psychological proximity to environmental pollution, whereas words with high construal level results in relatively further PD. The results obtained from another 272 valid participants show that the effect of consumers’ PD from environmental pollution on their willingness to participate in second-hand online transactions is more significant within a gain framing than within a loss framing. This indicates that the expected positive result of participating in second-hand online transactions leads to higher adoption intention than the expected negative result of not participating in such transactions.

One size does not fit all: How construal fit determines the effectiveness of organizational brand communication

While increasing the organizational identification of employees has been described as the ultimate goal of internal marketing and internal branding, one of its most common practices is to communicate organizational values both internally and externally. However, very little is known about the relative effectiveness of different types of organizational brand communication. Drawing from construal level theory, this research investigates whether the degree of construal fit, defined as the extent to which the construal of communication matches an employee’s construal of headquarters, determines the relative impact of organizational brand communication. A series of studies consisting of two cross-industrial multilevel field studies and a lab experiment provide evidence that organizational brand communication with low-level (high-level) construal is more effective to target employees with low (high) social distance to headquarters. These findings suggest that construal fit qualifies the effectiveness of organizational communication. JEL CLASSIFICATION: M3 Marketing and Advertising

Construal-level priming does not modulate memory performance in Deese-Roediger/McDermott paradigm

ABSTRACT Construal level refers to the level of abstractness that events and objects are represented, with high construal level promoting relational processing, whereas low construal level, item-specific processing. Three experiments (total N = 432) were conducted to investigate how priming construal level affects encoding of Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) lists (e.g., bed, dream … converged to a critical item sleep), and then modulates free recall and recognition memory performance. Before and during list encoding, participants were primed with high/low construal level by identifying global/local letter in composite letters in a Navon task, choosing category (e.g., body)/exemplar (e.g., liver) to common objects (e.g., internal organ) in a two-alternative-forced-choice task, or by narrating on a particular incident they had power over other people or someone else had power over them. Half of critical items (and yoked associates) were studied and half were not, so their hit rates, false alarm rates, and memory sensitivity were measured. Results showed the typical false memory effect and lower memory sensitivity for critical items (vs. yoked associates), but there was no significant effect of primed construal level on memory performance in all experiments, despite our sample sizes ensuring strong statistical power. Hence, construal-level priming does not modulate memory performance in the DRM task.

Distance matters: the effects of self-brand connections and construal levels on ad responses

This research examined the relationship between consumers’ self-brand connections (SBCs) and psychological distance toward a brand (Study 1) and empirically tested the matching principle in which construal levels of ad messages (high vs. low) should be congruent with a target market’s SBCs to maximize ad effectiveness (Studies 2 and 3). Study 1 found when consumers had stronger SBCs, they felt a closer psychological distance toward the brand. Meanwhile, Studies 2 and 3 revealed that participants in the weak SBCs condition responded to high-level construals (or abstractly-framed ads) more favorably than to low-level construals (or concretely-framed ads). However, no difference by the ad construals was found for the strong SBCs condition, indicating that a brand with relatively weak SBCs is more conducive to the matching principle than one with strong SBCs is.

Increasing sustainable consumption: message framing and in-store technology

PurposeThis study investigates the potential of two different digital in-store technologies and advertisement message framings according to the construal-level theory for increasing sustainable consumption. This paper aims to provide managerial implications for the promotion of sustainable products at the point of sale as well as to theoretically contribute by integrating the literature streams of perceptual research, point-of-sale marketing and construal-level theory.Design/methodology/approachThe authors tested their hypotheses in a two-week field experiment with a 2 (product label: organic vs local) × 2 (message framing: high vs low construal level) × 2 (presentation technology: digital signage vs augmented reality) between-subjects factorial design. The study was conducted in two grocery stores of different sizes using milk as a test product. Purchase data, as well as attention data gathered by facial recognition software, were analyzed.FindingsEven though the magic mirror augmented reality application attracted significantly more attention, it did not significantly boost sales compared to the digital signage technology. In the larger store, the sales of the advertised sustainable products were significantly higher in both technology conditions than in the control condition without advertisement. If consumers pay enough attention to the promotion, results indicate that using messages with a concrete low-level construal is more useful for organic goods.Originality/valueThis study is the first investigating a combination of in-store technology and construal-level message framing for the promotion of sustainable products. It extends the retailing literature by proposing a two-step approach on how to use in-store technology effectively: (1) gaining attention and (2) matching messages to existing cognitions.

Effects of congruence between individuals’ and hotel commercials’ construal levels on purchase intentions

ABSTRACT This paper proposes to examine the effects of consumers’ construal levels on their purchase decisions based on Construal Level Theory. Accordingly, the construal level of individuals was operationalized through trait-based and state-based approaches. Across two 2 (high construal level high vs. low construal level) X 2 (abstract ad content vs. concrete ad content) between-subjects experiments, we demonstrated that participants who were assigned to a condition in which the construal level of the participant and the hotel ad was consistent (high congruence) had a greater purchase intention for hotel services than participants who were assigned to a condition in which the construal level of the participant and the hotel ad were inconsistent (low congruence). Implications of the findings are discussed for both researchers and practitioners in the field of hospitality marketing.

Restrained by resources: The effect of scarcity cues and childhood socioeconomic status (SES) on consumer preference for feasibility

Scarcity cues are ubiquitous in our everyday lives and thus attract great attention in consumer research. However, little attention has been devoted to examining whether exposure to scarcity cues influences consumers' trade-off between feasibility and desirability in product choices. The present research argues that the impact of scarcity cues on consumers' preference for products that offer more feasible or more desirable features depends on consumers' childhood socioeconomic status (childhood SES). The findings consistently show that consumers with low childhood SES who were reminded of resource scarcity seek more feasibility in product choices than consumers in other conditions. We trace this effect to the fact that scarcity cues cause consumers with low childhood SES to process information at a low construal level. By presenting this conceptualization and evidence, the present study contributes to research on childhood SES, resource scarcity, and construal level theory (CLT).

The Effect of Participation Effort on CSR Participation Intention: The Moderating Role of Construal Level on Consumer Perception of Warm Glow and Perceived Costs

Consumer participation typically reduces consumer skepticism and leads to a positive response to corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Although many companies are encouraging consumers to participate in CSR activities, there is still insufficient research on the effectiveness of this strategy. That is, prior studies do not provide guidelines on the effectiveness of requiring consumers to participate in CSR activities. We examine the impact of the required participation effort on CSR participation intention, focusing on the differences in consumers’ perception of a warm glow feeling and costs according to their construal level. For this study, 107 participants were recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk. We tested hypotheses using a 2 (CSR participation effort) × 2 (construal level) between-subject analysis of variance (ANOVA), planned contrast analysis, and mediation analysis. The results indicate that for consumers with high construal levels who perceive participation efforts as warm glow, participation efforts have a positive impact on CSR participation intention. However, for those with low construal levels who perceive participation efforts as costs, high required efforts have a negative impact on their participation intention. Finally, we discuss the implications of these results, discuss the limitations, and suggest future research directions.

Exploring the moderating role of construal levels on the impact of process vs outcome attributes on service evaluations

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop and test an integrated conceptual framework using construal level theory (CLT) to explain the differences in the effects of process and outcome service attributes on overall service evaluation and customer satisfaction based on consumption context (social), evaluation context (temporal) and individual characteristics (expertise).Design/methodology/approachThe authors use two lab experiments (hotel and restaurant settings) and a field study of online reviews posted by actual hotel customers to test all the hypotheses.FindingsProcess (outcome) attributes have a stronger influence on service evaluations under low-level (high-level) construal. Specifically, process attributes have a stronger influence when customers are accompanied by proximal (vs distal) social group, evaluate a service under near (vs distant) temporal frame or have high (vs low) level of customer expertise.Practical implicationsService managers can use the findings about the differences in the influence of social, temporal and individual variables on customer evaluations under process and outcome attributes to improve customers’ service experiences and satisfaction.Originality/valueThis paper extends past research on the influence of construal levels on customer decision making by exploring the differences in the effects of process vs outcome service attributes on overall service evaluation and customer satisfaction, under the influence of low (vs high) construal levels triggered by social, temporal and individual variables.