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You Can't See Much in the Dark: Darkness Affects Construal Level and Psychological Distance
Ist Teil von
Social psychology (Göttingen, Germany), 2011-01, Vol.42 (3), p.174-184
Ort / Verlag
Hogrefe Publishing
Erscheinungsjahr
2011
Quelle
Alma/SFX Local Collection
Beschreibungen/Notizen
This article investigates the interplay between darkness, construal level, and
psychological distance based on the link between environmental lighting
conditions and visual perception. In the dark, visual perception becomes less
focused and detailed, leading to more abstract representations. We argue that
this link between physical darkness and a global perceptual processing style
spills over to the conceptual level. In three experiments, darkness triggered a
more global perceptual and conceptual processing style than did brightness,
regardless of whether the darkness was physically manipulated or primed.
Additionally, two Implicit Association Tests (IATs) showed that darkness is more
strongly associated with high-level construal than with low-level construal.
Moreover, drawing on the generalized link between construal level and
psychological distance, we proposed that darkness is also linked to perceived
psychological distance because the lack of detail information and the abstract
representations in the dark remove objects and other persons from
people's direct, detailed experience. Eight IATs confirmed the
implicit link between darkness and four dimensions of psychological distance.
These implications of these results are discussed with regard to thinking styles
and social processes like stereotyping and cooperation.