People are capable of thinking about the future, the past, remote locations, another
person's perspective, and counterfactual alternatives. Without denying the uniqueness
of each process, it is proposed that they constitute different forms of traversing
psychological distance. Psychological distance is egocentric: Its reference point
is the self in the here and now, and the different ways in which an object might be
removed from that point-in time, in space, in social distance, and in hypotheticality-constitute
different distance dimensions. Transcending the self in the here and now entails mental
construal, and the farther removed an object is from direct experience, the higher
(more abstract) the level of construal of that object. Supporting this analysis, research
shows (a) that the various distances are cognitively related to each other, (b) that
they similarly influence and are influenced by level of mental construal, and (c)
that they similarly affect prediction, preference, and action.
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