Probability as a psychological distance: Construal and preferences

@article{citeulike:771034, abstract = {We argue that probability, like space and time, instantiates psychological distance. Unlikely outcomes may seem more remote than likely outcomes and may therefore be construed at a relatively high level. Specifically, when the probability of an outcome is low, ends-related primary features should be more salient than means-related secondary features, but as the probability of the outcome increases, means-related features may become no less and even more salient than ends-related features. Thus, increases in probability should increase the weight of means-related features relative to the weight of ends-related features in decisions, thereby decreasing (or even reversing) the preference for a more desirable/less feasible outcome over a less desirable/more feasible outcome. We observed this pattern in two experiments. Analyses of judgments, monetary decisions, and self-reported reasons for decisions showed that the weight of means-related features was more sensitive to changes in probability than the weight of ends-related features in decisions.}, author = {Todorov, Alexander and Goren, Amir and Trope, Yaacov }, citeulike-article-id = {771034}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2006.04.002}, journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology}, keywords = {clt, construal, construal-level, construal-level-theory, distance, preferences, probability, psychological-distance}, posted-at = {2006-07-24 11:49:41}, priority = {4}, title = {Probability as a psychological distance: Construal and preferences}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2006.04.002}, volume = {In Press, Corrected Proof} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:771034 L3 - citeulike-article-id:771034 TI - Probability as a psychological distance: Construal and preferences JF - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology VL - In Press, Corrected Proof N2 - We argue that probability, like space and time, instantiates psychological distance. Unlikely outcomes may seem more remote than likely outcomes and may therefore be construed at a relatively high level. Specifically, when the probability of an outcome is low, ends-related primary features should be more salient than means-related secondary features, but as the probability of the outcome increases, means-related features may become no less and even more salient than ends-related features. Thus, increases in probability should increase the weight of means-related features relative to the weight of ends-related features in decisions, thereby decreasing (or even reversing) the preference for a more desirable/less feasible outcome over a less desirable/more feasible outcome. We observed this pattern in two experiments. Analyses of judgments, monetary decisions, and self-reported reasons for decisions showed that the weight of means-related features was more sensitive to changes in probability than the weight of ends-related features in decisions. KW - clt KW - construal KW - construal-level KW - construal-level-theory KW - distance KW - preferences KW - probability KW - psychological-distance AU - Todorov, Alexander AU - Goren, Amir AU - Trope, Yaacov UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2006.04.002 ER -