TITLE:
The Influence of Psychological Distance on Ambiguity Decision Making: A Perspective Based on the Construal Level Theory
AUTHORS:
Zeyu Tan, Yaozhong Liu
KEYWORDS:
Psychological Distance, Construal Level, Ambiguity Avoidance
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.9 No.5,
May
17,
2018
ABSTRACT: Based on the construal level theory, this paper investigates the influence of different dimensions of psychological distance on the ambiguity decision making. Based on the four dimensions of psychological distance, this paper uses single factor within-subjects experiment design and randomly assigns subjects into each dimension to participate in the experimental manipulation so as to test whether different psychological distance dimensions have an influence on the ambiguity decision making. The results show that, under the conditions of time distance, space distance, social distance and probability, the closer the psychological distance is to decision making, the lower the construal level for the decision event or the object, thereby more inclined to ambiguity avoidance. Thus, the closer the psychological distance of decision event is, the higher degree of the individual’s ambiguity avoidance.