Social Distance, Framing, and Judgment: A Construal Level Perspective

Abstract

Drawing upon construal level theory, this research investigates the influence of social distance on individuals’ responses to persuasive messages. Experiment 1 (N= 133) demonstrates that the persuasive impact of a gain frame becomes stronger when people make judgments for socially distant (e.g., others) versus proximal entities (e.g., selves). On the other hand, the persuasive impact of a loss frame remains the same across different levels of social distance. Experiment 2 (N= 135) shows that the persuasiveness of a societal frame becomes stronger when people make judgments for socially distant versus proximal entities, whereas the persuasiveness of an individual frame is unaffected by social distance. Experiment 3 (N= 80) provides evidence that mental salience of positive and societal outcomes of an action increases as social distance increases, whereas mental salience of negative and individual outcomes remains the same across different levels of social distance.

Effects of Message Framing and Past Experience on Intentions to Prevent Human–Coyote Conflicts

“…Although community-referencing encompasses the self and close others, it also includes many relatively distant others, which may drive the readers' attention further away from themselves. These two types of other-referencing essentially relate to the different social distance levels from the self (Nan, 2007). Our findings suggest that message recipients are more likely to be persuaded when they are informed that their behaviors will influence a small number of close others rather than a large number of distant others.…”

Patients’ Preferences Related to Benefits, Risks, and Formulations of Schizophrenia Treatment

“…Schizophrenia patients are very sensitive about revealing personal information, and prior DCE work showed that such patients answer hypothetical questions about others (judgments) more easily than about themselves (preferences) (10). Formulating the questions as judgments also avoided confusion with patients' experiences and expectations about how treatments could affect their own emotional responses, encouraged objectivity, and reduced potential yeasaying bias compared with a question about what patients would choose for themselves (10,(31)(32)(33)(34). Use of the results as indicators for personal treatment decisions assumes that the respondents' judgments are a valid representation of personal preference.…”

Framing and Bias: A Literature Review of Recent Findings

“…The influence of positive framing differs depending on social distance (affiliation to a group), but the effect does not change proportionally to it (Nan, 2007). The framing effect is not weaker when people judge someone from a more distant social group, but differs between the particular levels of distance.…”

“…The framing effect is not weaker when people judge someone from a more distant social group, but differs between the particular levels of distance. In Nan's (2007) experiments, message framing has a stronger impact when it relates to a best friend than a colleague, but on the other hand, it is stronger when it relates to a colleague than a decision-maker. Similarly, as Gamliel (2007) describes, even if a member of a certain group is preferred to a certain position, it does not matter whether this decision is made by members of a given group or members of another group -the framing of an assignment has the same impact on both.…”