Psychological Distance Theory Research Articles

How Perceived Similarity between Travel Destinations and Hometowns Influences Consumer Experience in Online Travel Blind Boxes: The Mediating Role of the Aha Moment

The blind box market is fast-growing, from toys, baseball cards, and vibrant second-hand products to the recent growing tourism market, becoming the latest trend sweeping through China, not only in offline retailing but also online businesses and e-commerce. For young consumers, the element of mystery is a big part of the fun that not everyone can obtain the most special and desirable products. The present research aims to elucidate how travel blind boxes attract young consumers in terms of their psychological connections to travel destinations. In particular, building upon psychological distance theory, this study examines the relationship between perceived similarities between travel destinations and hometowns and the attraction of travel blind boxes. Contributing to the existing literature that mainly describes the phenomenon of the blind box craze but often fails to identify its underlying mechanisms, the present study advances our understanding of such trendy marketing practices by investigating the mediating role of the “aha moment” and the boundary conditions of electronic word-of-mouth recommendations and price sensitivity.

Anticipated variability increases generalization of predictive learning

We show that learners generalized more broadly around the learned stimulus when they expected more variability between the learning set and the generalization set, as well as within the generalization set. Experiments 1 and 3 used a predictive learning task and demonstrated border perceptual generalization both when expected variability was manipulated explicitly via instructions (Experiment 1), and implicitly by increasing temporal distance to the anticipated application of learning (Experiment 3). Experiment 2 showed that expecting to apply learning in the more distant future increases expected variability in the generalization set. We explain the relation between expected variability and generalization as an accuracy-applicability trade-off: when learners anticipate more variable generalization targets, they “cast a wider net” during learning, by attributing the outcome to a broader range of stimuli. The use of more abstract, broader categories when anticipating a more distant future application aligns with Construal Level Theory of psychological distance.

Shaping patient perceptions with healthcare supply chain transparency

AbstractHealthcare professionals continually face pressure for increased transparency in their supply chains (SCs). This research examines how healthcare SC information disclosures and physician operations influence patient perceptions (i.e., satisfaction with physicians and attitude toward healthcare service providers). Evidence from prior research might not be applicable in the healthcare context because of intense regulations and safety concerns. Moreover, previous studies have mostly adopted an internal, operational perspective. By contrast, we provide healthcare professionals with guidance on how to maximize patient perceptions. Anchoring on signaling theory and construal level theory of psychological distance, we examine whether and how the disclosed information in a healthcare context influences patients' perceptions with two vignette‐based studies. In contrast with literature on SC transparency, we do not find a main effect of SC disclosures in healthcare. Instead, the effects depend on the content disclosed. We find that spatial and temporal distances of the healthcare SC significantly influence patients' perceptions. Furthermore, a three‐way interaction shows that by strategically disclosing manufacturing and distribution information, especially when these occur close to the patient's home country, and incorporating service recovery actions, such as closer follow‐ups, professionals can maximize patient perception outcomes.

Out of sight, out of mind: how pescetarians manage dissonance by creating distance

ABSTRACT For many, there exists a cognitive inconsistency between the practice of eating non-human animals and the belief that animals are morally relevant. This juxtaposition has fittingly been described as the ‘meat paradox’. However, what can be said about the decision to eat only the flesh of fish? The present research seeks to understand what attitudes lead pescetarians to remove terrestrial animals from their plate but still include aquatic animals such as fish. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with self-identifying pescetarians and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes are presented which can be understood by reference to the construal-level theory of psychological distance. Fish were perceived as distant on multiple dimensions which resulted in speciesist (the idea that some species are more important and morally relevant than others) attitudes toward marine animals’ capabilities and the justification of pescetarianism as a compromise between debates of feasibility and ethical desirability.

Emotionally focused therapy and psychological distance research on consumers with social anxiety disorder

BackgroundSocial anxiety disorder is characterized by avoidance of interpersonal relationships and a generalized impairment of emotion recognition and regulation. Protecting the individual’s consumer rights can be difficult when this emotion is expressed in consumer relationships. Compared with other therapies, Emotionally Focused Therapy focuses more on the individual’s emotional processing. Therefore, the study proposes to use emotion-focused therapy and psychological distance theory to intervene in patients with social anxiety disorder and help them better control their emotional management.Subjects and Methods Consumers with social anxiety disorder were selected as research subjects and randomly divided into an experimental group (conventional psychological intervention) and a control group (emotion-focused therapy combined with psychological distance-related theory), respectively, to provide reasonable guidance for individual emotions. Before and after the experiment, the results were analyzed with the help of the Social Anxiety Subscale of the Self-Consciousness Scale and SPSS23.0.ResultsAfter the experimental intervention, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference between the social anxiety scale scores of the two groups of patients (P<0.05), and the total scale scores of the experimental group and the control group were (12.34 ± 4.28) and (18.17 ± 2.13), respectively.Conclusions Emotional aggregation therapy can better enable social anxiety disorder patients to focus more on their own emotions, and psychological distance theory research can invariably draw closer to the degree of closeness between the intervener and the interviewees so that the efficacy of the treatment has a high degree of applicability and effectiveness.

Understanding extra-role security behaviors: An integration of self-determination theory and construal level theory

Extra-role security behaviors (ERSBs) – spontaneous security behaviors that are not prescribed in organizational security policies – are seen as a useful addition to securing informational assets in organizations. However, this exploratory study, based on findings obtained through 29 in-depth-interviews, challenges this positive perspective and shows that extra-role security behaviors cut both ways: They are either helpful or harmful. In addition, our results suggest that (1) ERSB contributes to varying degrees to the effectiveness of information security compliance, (2) the self-determination theory contributes to understanding the motivators for ERSB, and (3) the construal level theory of psychological distance explains the differential risk evaluation of ERSB. We discuss implications for researchers and practitioners – particularly in terms of promoting the beneficial nature of extra-role security behaviors – and suggest compelling avenues for future research.

Factors of effectiveness of green nudges for more eco-responsible behaviour – Systematic review and research directions

Considering the rise of green nudges, our objective is to determine the factors of their effectiveness through a systematic review, following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) method, which analyses 28 articles and 73 pro-environmental nudges. Following a redefinition of the concept and a categorisation based on the construal-level theory of psychological distance (opposing the lever of the ‘how’ to that of the ‘why’ of choice), the effectiveness of green nudges is analysed. A relationship of dependence appears between the (in)effectiveness of nudges and (1) the levers, mechanisms and techniques mobilised; (2) the visibility of the behaviour by others; (3) the field of application; and (4) the geographical area. These analyses and the limitations of the work reviewed provide a basis to propose avenues for research. New theoretical insights and recommendations are provided in favour of more effective nudges for the adoption of ecological and responsible behaviours.

Risk-efficacy framework - a new perspective on threat and efficacy appraisal and the role of disparity.

The current study aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of threat and efficacy appraisal and account for the influence of disparity in the accessibility to risk prevention resources in predicting attitudes and behaviors. We propose a Risk-Efficacy Framework by integrating theories, including the extended parallel process model, health belief model, social cognitive theory, and construal level theory of psychological distance to achieve such a goal. An online survey targeting the U.S. population was conducted to empirically test the model (N = 729). The survey measured people's threat and efficacy appraisals related to COVID-19 and its vaccines and their attitudes and behavioral intention. The results of the survey supported the model's propositions. Specifically, perceived susceptibility moderated perceived severity's effects on attitudes and behaviors, such that perceived severity's influence attenuated as perceived susceptibility increased. Perceived accessibility to risk prevention resources moderated the influence of self and response efficacy. The former's effects on attitudes and behaviors increased, and the latter's effects decreased when perceived accessibility was high. The proposed framework provides a new perspective to examine the psychological determinants of prevention adoption and contributes to designing and implementing campaigns distributing prevention to underserved populations. The framework offers insights for risk managers such as public health authorities by articulating the dynamic nature of risks. When communicating early-stage lesser-known risks to the public, campaigns should highlight their severity and the response efficacy of risk solutions. Differently, more resources should be devoted to cultivating self-efficacy for widespread risks with more mitigation resources.

COVID-19 Pandemic as an Opportunity or Challenge: Applying Psychological Distance Theory and the Co-Benefit Frame to Promote Public Support for Climate Change Mitigation on Social Media

ABSTRACT The current study employs psychological distance theory and the co-benefit frame to explore message framing strategies on social media to promote public support in climate change mitigation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This online 2 × 2 × 2 experiment recruited 708 Chinese college students to examine the effect of temporal distance (2025 vs. 2050), spatial distance (China vs. the global), and the co-benefit frame (present vs. absent) on behavioral intentions to mitigate climate change and policy support in climate change mitigation. Unexpectedly, the MANOVA results showed that the co-benefit frame of COVID-19 and climate change did not have main or interaction that affect behavioral intention and policy support. However, close temporal distance increases support for climate change mitigation. Meanwhile, temporal and spatial distance have an interaction on behavioral intention. Our results suggest that strategies to reduce psychological distance on social media are effective, especially on temporal distance, but bonding two events through psychological distance to promote support for climate change mitigation must be reconsidered.

Using Virtual Reality in E-Cigarette and Secondhand Aerosol Prevention Messages: Implications for Emotional Campaign Design

Vaping has dramatically increased in recent years among young adults. To increase risk perceptions and promote preventive behaviors against vaping and secondhand e-cigarette aerosol (SHA), this study designed and tested virtual reality (VR) messages based on the theory of psychological distance. We randomly assigned 137 participants to see one of three messages: a VR message presenting SHAs impact on the self (VR-Self), a VR message showing SHAs impact on others (VR-Other), and a print advertisement. Risk perceptions and preventive intentions/behaviors were assessed at three different times: before, immediately after, and 1 week after the experimental treatment. All three messages increased desired intentions and risk perceptions immediately, reduced vaping interest both immediately and 1 week after message exposure, and increased behavior to persuade others to quit vaping after a week. Compared with the print advertisement, VR-Other generated less vaping interest immediately following message exposure (β = 1.40, p = 0.05). After 1 week, VR-Self (β = 1.62, p = 0.05) and VR-Other (β = 2.37, p = 0.01) generated less vaping interest than the print advertisement. VR-Other also generated a higher level of perceived harm of SHA (β = 1.27, p = 0.01) than the print advertisement. VRs advantage over print in reducing vaping interest was increased after 1 week. Although VR-Other generated less emotions, such as fear, than VR-Self (z = 2.48, p = 0.02) and print (z = -2.82, p = 0.02), its persuasiveness was not hindered. Disgust increased the intentions to persuade others to quit vaping immediately after the experimental treatment (β = 0.85, p = 0.02), and anger aroused by recalling the messages decreased vaping interest 1 week later (β = -2.07, p = 0.02).

A big data analysis of COVID-19 impacts on Airbnbs’ bookings behavior applying construal level and signaling theories

This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer booking behavior in the peer-to-peer accommodation sector. This study used a dataset composed of 2041,966 raws containing 69,727 properties located in all 21 Italian regions in the pre- and post-COVID-1911Considering the pandemic is far from over, in this study, post-pandemic indicates the period in which the majority of national governments in the world relaxed movement and travel restrictions as a result of the flattening of the COVID-19 curve.. Results show that after the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers preferred P2P accommodations with price premiums and located in rural (versus urban) areas. Although the findings reveal a preference for entire apartments over shared accommodation (i.e., room, apartment), this preference did not change significantly after COVID-19 lockdowns. The contribution of this study lies in combining psychological distance theory and signaling theory to assess P2P performance in the pre- and post-COVID-19 periods.

Narrative persuasion and psychological distance: Analyzing the effectiveness of distance-framed narratives in communicating ocean plastic pollution.

Narratives have been identified as an effective tool to communicate seemingly abstract and uncertain risks. This study integrates the construal level theory of psychological distance and narrative persuasion to examine how distance-framed narratives influence young adults' attitude, behavioral intention, and policy support related to ocean plastic pollution. Results from an experimental survey (N=889) indicate that the narrative featuring socially close characters and spatially close location is least effective in producing persuasive effects. Instead, the narrative depicting socially close characters' encounters at a spatially distant location is more persuasive. Within narrative conditions, the findings support the mediating role of identification and transportation in facilitating narrative effects. Serial mediation of identification/transportation and psychological distance perception was also observed. Findings from this study offer meaningful theoretical and practical implications for strategic communication on ocean plastic pollution.

Counseling for Health: How Psychological Distance Influences Continuance Intention towards Mobile Medical Consultation.

As mobile healthcare services entered the public sight with high frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic, patients are increasingly recognizing the effectiveness of mobile medical consultation (MMC). Earlier studies have investigated what influences continuance intention (CI) towards MMC, but few studies have scrutinized it from the perspective of patients' psychological distance. We formulated a framework to examine the psychological factors influencing CI towards MMC by integrating the information systems continuance model and psychological distance theory. The framework was validated using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach and data from 475 MMC users in China. The empirical results revealed that immediacy, telepresence, intimacy, and substitutability were significant predictors of CI, while satisfaction mediated these pathways. Pandemic-induced anxiety positively moderated the effect of immediacy on satisfaction and the effect of satisfaction on CI. Practical implementations for MMC healthcare practitioners, designers, and marketers are drawn.

At home as an ‘outsider’: Subarnalata and Othappu: The Scent of the Other Side

The phrase ‘at home’ connotes familiarity, happiness and safety, while the image of an ‘outsider’ evokes the opposite sentiments. It is ironical and a seeming contradiction to feel as an ‘outsider’ in one’s own home. Though many literary texts have portrayed the poignant stories of characters who feel alienated within the precincts of their home, it is with the advent of feminist writings that ‘home’ as a site of alterity has been fully explored. The paper, by focusing on two novels, Subarnalata, a Bengali novel published in 1966 (English translation published in 1997), and Othappu, a Malayalam novel published in 2005 (English translation published in 2009), attempts to project the uncritical binaries such as home-outside world, secular-religious, and reason-emotion, and thereby problematises the concept of ‘alterity’ itself. We have tried to look at ‘alterity’ from a psychological perspective and explain it using the construal-level theory of psychological distance.

Risk or Efficacy? How risk perception and efficacy beliefs predicted using hearing protection devices among different groups of Chinese workers

Previous research identified perceived severity and efficacy beliefs (including response efficacy and self-efficacy) as two major predictors that affected the usage of hearing protection devices (HPD). However, whether the relative effects of perceived severity and efficacy beliefs on HPD usage varies across different populations remains unknown. Drawing upon the construal level theory of psychological distance, the present study aims to examine whether age and seniority, which were related to psychological distance, might moderate the effect of perceived severity of noise damage, response efficacy, and self-efficacy on HPD usage by Chinese workers at noise-exposure positions. A paper–pencil survey was conducted face to face with 449 Chinese workers in five factories who were exposed to noise at work. Age moderated the effect of perceived severity on HPD usage such that its positive effect was only significant for younger workers. In addition, seniority moderated the effects of both response efficacy and self-efficacy on HPD usage such that both types of efficacy beliefs exhibited stronger effects on HPD usage among senior workers compared to junior workers. Therefore, campaign messages targeted at younger workers should emphasize the severe consequences of noise exposure, whereas messages targeted at senior workers should elevate their response efficacy and self-efficacy in HPD usage.

The role of proximity in omnichannel customer experience: a service logic perspective

PurposeThis article proposes a new theoretical background against which to measure customer experience for omnichannel service deliveries and communications based on the concept of proximity. This represents a first step in developing a new measurement approach for omnichannel customer experience.Design/methodology/approachThe methodological approach is based on literature review and theory development. Various streams of literature are integrated on the basis of their interactionist nature (service logic, psychological distance theory, and omnichannel customer experience literature), and theory is developed based thereon.FindingsSuccessful omnichannel service deliveries and communications should build proximity with the customer during interactions at the different touchpoints. Proximity represents the value-in-use for the customer, who is coproducer of value at each interaction. Proximity can be applied to all touchpoints, thus strengthening seamlessness for omnichannel service deliveries and communications.Originality/valueThis research advances knowledge by integrating the concepts of omnichannel and proximity under the lenses of service logic. The author proposes a new theoretical background for the measurement of omnichannel customer experience that contributes to the literature. In modern omnichannel service deliveries and communications, a measurement approach based on proximity fulfills the need to reconcile customer experiences at both remote and physical touchpoints for a holistic and coherent customer experience. Use of the four proximity dimensions (social, temporal, spatial, and hypothetical) gives flexibility to managers to build proximity across remote and physical touchpoints in different industries.

Citizen Environmental Behavior From the Perspective of Psychological Distance Based on a Visual Analysis of Bibliometrics and Scientific Knowledge Mapping

Global warming and other climate issues seriously threaten global sustainable development. As citizen environmental behavior can have a positive impact on the environment, it is of great theoretical significance and practical reference value to study the impact of psychological distance theory on citizen environmental behavior. This study obtained 2,633 related studies from 1980 to 2020 from the Web of Science as research objects, and used CiteSpace, VOSviewer, Netdraw, and other software programs to perform a bibliometric analysis, which can show the complex relationship implied in the citation, intuitively grasp the development context and hot frontier in this field, and help scholars better study citizen environmental behavior. The results and conclusions are as follows. (1) The related research covered three periods: infancy, growth, and outbreak. (2) Chronologically, the relevant research evolved from building models to analyze the impact of environmental enrichment on human environmental behavior, to studying the motivation behind citizen environmental behavior, and finally to paying attention to sustainable development. (3) A cluster analysis of high-frequency keywords identified three research hotspots: “drivers of psychological distance of environmental change perception on citizen environmental behavior,” “impact of social distance on adolescents’ behavior,” and “construal level theory and citizen green behavior.” Based on these findings, possible future research directions were identified, including changing from a single theory to a combination of multiple theories to comprehensively study citizen environmental protection behavior; analyzing the motivation of citizen environmental behavior and summarizing the general motivation of environmental behavior according to its internal relationship; and determining how to narrow the global psychological distance, strengthen the awareness of the community of human destiny, and explore the establishment of an efficient global climate cooperation mechanism.

What is the glamor of black‐and‐white? The effect of color design on evaluations of luxury brand ads

AbstractVisual esthetic stimuli are believed to be an important factor in increasing luxury brands attitudes. However, less attention has been given by existing research to how the presence or absence of color (i.e., color vs. black‐and‐white) influences consumers' perceptions of products and evaluations toward luxury ads. Drawing on the perspective of esthetic meaning and the theory of psychological distance, this study provides key evidence for addressing this gap. Three studies have found that black‐and‐white (BW) (vs. color) is associated with the luxuriousness of products and evaluations of luxury brand ads. Specifically, Study 1 shows that BW (vs. color) design can enhance consumers' evaluations of luxury brand ads by enhancing the perceived luxuriousness of products. In addition, Study 2 indicates that ad appeal plays a moderating role in the link between color design (BW vs. color) and ad evaluations such that the effect of BW designs (vs. color design) will be higher for consumers when ads focus on hedonic (vs. utilitarian) appeals. Study 3 further shows that BW is more effective for luxury brand ads than both iconic and noniconic colors. In sum, our results extend the existing literature and provide valuable management strategies for luxury brand marketing management in visual esthetic design.

Understanding the Emotion Coping Strategies During Public Emergencies - From the Perspective of Psychological Distance.

Research has investigated behavioral coping strategies for the negative emotions that public emergencies elicit. Accordingly, our current research explored how people coped with negative emotions in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, from a cognitive perspective. Building on the theory of psychological distance and self-construal, we proposed that people who experienced fear, sadness and anxiety responded with independent-self construal, focusing on information that related to themselves and the novel virus (independent information). On the other hand, people who experienced fear, sadness and anger responded with interdependent-self construal, focusing on information that pertained to “us”, the virus and nature (interdependent information). We collected data from 1,142 participants at both the initial peak of the outbreak and when its spread had subsided. Based on this longitudinal data, we examined the effectiveness of these strategies, and our findings suggested that independent information was effective in decreasing fear and anxiety, while interdependent information effectively mitigated sadness. The findings could help researchers, practitioners, governments, and organizations to implement appropriate information strategies to regulate individuals’ negative emotions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Refining the Application of Construal Level Theory: Egocentric and Nonegocentric Psychological Distances in Climate Change Visual Communication

ABSTRACT Recent studies have found mixed evidence about the role of psychological distance of climate change in people’s engagement with the issue. To gain more clarity in the application of construal level theory of psychological distance in climate change communication, we used two online experiments to investigate how abstract and concrete construals of climate change imagery may differentially influence people’s perceived psychological distances to the issue. Specifically, we clarified the conceptual differences between two subdimensions (i.e. egocentric and nonegocentric) of psychological distance and showed how the two types differ in climate change communication. Findings also showed that concrete construals of climate change images made participants estimate less egocentric geographical, temporal, and social distances to climate change, which led to greater mitigation behavioral intentions. But this construal-level effect did not exist when participants estimated the nonegocentric distances – the perceived distances between climate change and others (i.e. other locations, other people).