Effects of psychological distance on attraction effect

Abstract

The present study demonstrated that psychological distance influences the attraction effect by changing the weights of the attributes of options. Construal level theory proposes that the weight of a superordinate attribute increases with psychological distance, whereas the weight of a subordinate attribute decreases with psychological distance. The present hypothesis proposed that an asymmetrical change of weights of attributes would influence the relationship between options, and, consequently, the attraction effect would vary. The present study comprised two studies. In study 1, participants made choices among three lotteries in near and distant future conditions. Study 2 asked the participants to choose among three events in similar and dissimilar other conditions. The results showed that the choice of the asymmetrically dominating option, which was superior in superordinate attributes, increased as the psychological distance increased, whereas the choice of the asymmetrically dominating option, which was superior in subordinate attributes, decreased or stayed static.

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