Emotion regulation elicits cross-linguistically shared and language-specific forms of linguistic distancing.

Cognitively reappraising a stressful experience-reinterpreting the situation to blunt its emotional impact-is effective for regulating negative emotions. English speakers have been shown to engage in linguistic distancing when reappraising, spontaneously using words that are more abstract or impersonal. Across two preregistered studies (N = 299), we investigated whether such shifts in language use generalize to Spanish, a language proposed to offer unique tools for expressing psychological distance. Bilingual speakers of Spanish and English and a comparison group of English monolinguals transcribed their thoughts in each of their languages while responding naturally to negative images or reappraising them. Reappraisal shifted markers of psychological distance common to both languages (e.g., reduced use of "I"/"yo"), as well as Spanish-specific markers (e.g., greater use of "estar": "to be" for temporary states). Whether these linguistic shifts reflected successful emotion regulation depended on language experience: in exploratory analyses, the common markers were more strongly linked to reduced negative affect for late than early Spanish learners, and one Spanish-specific marker ("estar") also predicted reduced negative affect for early learners. Our findings suggest that people distance their language in both cross-linguistically shared and language-specific ways when regulating their emotions.

Comparing virtual reality vs. augmented reality in promoting COVID-19 self-testing, vaccination, and preventive behaviors.

Objective: Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are innovative technologies that can serve as effective tools for creating health interventions by altering psychological distance. Based on construal level theory and the reality-virtuality continuum, we designed, tested, and compared VR and AR campaigns to encourage proactive measures against COVID-19. Methods: 143 participants were randomly assigned to one of three messages: VR, AR, and a CDC video, and completed surveys before, immediately, and one week following message exposure. Results: VR and AR increased preventive intentions and behaviors against COVID-19 both in the short and long run. VR was particularly effective as it also increased risk perceptions, more preventive intentions in the short term, and more preventive behaviors, including social distancing and mask wearing, in the long term. VR was more efficient than AR in enhancing risk perceptions and preventive intentions right after being exposed to the messages as well as promoting behaviors such as avoiding crowds, maintaining social distance from others, and wearing a mask in indoor public areas one week later. Moreover, among the three conditions, VR was the only intervention that generated actual behavior change after one week, which indicated potential long-term advantages of VR compared to other mediums. VR decreased social, spatial, and hypothetical distances to a greater degree than AR. VR was more effective than video. However, AR was not more persuasive than video. Conclusions: Insights gained from the findings extend beyond the pandemic phase, offering practical applications for employing VR and AR technologies in health campaigns.

A study on the effectiveness of narrative image types, message framing, and psychological distance in enhancing young people's self-efficacy in marine garbage recycling.

Intentional or unintentional littering, especially among young people, poses a threat to the marine environment. It is, therefore, necessary to enhance awareness of marine environmental protection among youth groups. This study explored the interaction between visual image types (photograph vs. cartoon), message framing (positive vs. negative), and psychological distance (human vs. turtle). A three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression analysis were used to verify the hypotheses. The key findings of the research were as follows: (1) Among the eight information construction methods, cartoons combined with turtles and presented with positive outcomes were the best way to communicate, i.e., cartoons showing animals in a friendly and positive way were the most effective form of marine garbage recycling for young people, and (2) Young people's preference for information will promote their self-efficacy in marine garbage recycling. The implications of these findings for developing marine protection information communication education for youth groups are also proposed.

Exploring perceived learning effectiveness in virtual reality health communication through the lens of construal level theory.

BACKGROUND: Virtual reality is increasingly being used for health communication. This study aimed to propose and test an integrated model of the determinants of perceived learning effectiveness in virtual reality (VR) within health communication. It proposes that psychological distance negatively affects immersion, flow, and presence, positively affecting perceived learning effectiveness. METHODS: The Fuzzy Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory Method (F-DEMATEL) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to test the proposed model. Data for the F-DEMATEL study were collected from 20 participants, whereas data for the SEM study were collected from 1104 participants, with 775 included in the final analysis. RESULTS: The results of the F-DEMATEL study revealed that the three dimensions of psychological distance, emotional distance, spatial distance, and social distance are causal factors. In contrast, temporal, technical, and hypothetical distance are effect factors. The SEM results confirmed the negative effects of psychological distance on flow and presence and the positive effects of immersion and presence on perceived learning effectiveness. In addition, the mediating role of presence was confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that interrelationships among the factors can enhance the perceived learning effectiveness of health communication from VR. The crucial role of ensuring low psychological distance and high engagement in VR communication is also confirmed, providing crucial implications for VR communication practitioners.

How Does Psychological Distance Influence Public Risky Behavior During Public Health Emergencies.

Background: Public health emergencies not only threaten the physical and mental health of the public but also trigger a series of risky behaviors of the public, which in turn lead to the emergence or intensification of risk events, disrupting existing economic and social order. Purpose: Based on construal level theory, cognitive appraisal theory of emotions and mood maintenance hypothesis, the study aims to investigate the collectively effect of risk perception and psychological insecurity in the connection between psychological distance and public risky behavior. Participants and Methods: Cross-sectional data was derived from 257 China urban residents. All participants finished the psychological distance scale, risk perception scale, psychological insecurity scale, and risky behavior scale. The research hypothesis was tested using the PROCESS macro. Results: The direct impact of psychological distance on risky behavior was not significant (ß=-0.018, p>0.05). The indirect impact of psychological distance on risky behavior was significant. In other words, the impact of psychological distance on risky behavior was serially mediated via risk perception and psychological insecurity (ß=0.011, 95% CI= [0.0013, 0.025]). Conclusion: Risk perception and psychological insecurity play serial mediating roles in the relationship between psychological distance and public risky behavior. We conclude that during public health emergencies, public health managers should pay extra attention to the risk perception and psychological insecurity level of the public with closer psychological distance, take measures to reduce their risk perception, enhance their psychological security, and reduce their risky behavior, thereby ensuring the physical and mental health of the public and maintaining the stability of economic and social order.

Perception of hypotheticality in technology-based business ideas: effects on Opportunity Beliefs from a Construal Level Theory perspective.

This research investigates how entrepreneurs perceive the hypothetical nature of technologies (based on situations that are often imagined or theoretical) as a foundation for entrepreneurial endeavors and how this perception influences the formation of business Opportunity Beliefs. Drawing on the Construal Level Theory, we explore the relationship between the perceived hypotheticality of technologies and Opportunity Beliefs. Two experimental studies are conducted to examine these relationships, with Study 1 (n = 177 entrepreneurs) focusing on the perception of innovative technologies as more distant or hypothetical, and Study 2 (n = 404 entrepreneurs) delving into how the perceived distance to technology influences Opportunity Beliefs. The results indicate that entrepreneurs view more innovative technologies as more hypothetical and that hypotheticality mediates the relationship between the perceived degree of innovation and Opportunity Beliefs. We find evidence that Entrepreneurs tend to view the feasibility and fit/alignment of business opportunities more favorably when they perceive the psychological distance (hypotheticality) of the opportunity as closer rather than more distant. However, the difference this difference is nonsignificant in how they evaluate the desirability of the opportunity in any psychological distance. These results provide insight into the cognitive processes of entrepreneurs and offer implications for understanding how entrepreneurs perceive and evaluate business opportunities.

Closing the Gap: How Psychological Distance Influences Willingness to Engage in Risky COVID Behavior.

Pandemics, and other risk-related contexts, require dynamic changes in behavior as situations develop. Human behavior is influenced by both explicit (cognitive) and implicit (intuitive) factors. In this study, we used psychological distance as a lens to understand what influences our decision-making with regard to risk in the context of COVID-19. This study was based on the rationale that our relational needs are more concrete to us than the risk of the virus. First, we explored the impact of social-psychological distance on participants' risk perceptions and behavioral willingness. As hypothesized, we found that close social relationships of agents promoted willingness to engage in risky behavior. In the second phase, we tested an intervention designed to increase the concreteness of information about virus transmission as a mechanism to mitigate the bias of social influence. We found that the concreteness intervention resulted in significantly reduced willingness to engage in risky behavior. As such, communications aimed at changing the behavior of citizens during times of increased risk or danger should consider conceptually concrete messaging when communicating complex risk, and hence may provide a valuable tool in promoting health-related behavior.

The Impact of Interpersonal Interaction on Purchase Intention in Livestreaming E-Commerce: A Moderated Mediation Model.

Over the last few years, livestreaming e-commerce has shown rapid growth and has become an important form of e-commerce. However, the potential mechanisms of interpersonal interaction's influence on purchase intention in livestreaming e-commerce have yet to be fully investigated. Based on the SOR (Stimulus-Organism-Response) framework, this study reveals the association between interpersonal interaction (consumer-anchor interaction and consumer-consumer interaction), psychological distance, consumer purchase intention, and the positive role of brand identification and time pressure in this context of influential relationships. The results of analyzing 603 questionnaires show that psychological distance between consumers and products plays a mediating role in the effect of interpersonal interaction on purchase intention. Meanwhile, this study found that consumers' brand identification with the products in the live room was effective in enhancing the direct effect of interpersonal interaction in the model. Additionally, the time pressure associated with limited-time sales was also found to be effective in enhancing the effects of interpersonal interaction and psychological distance on purchase intention. The results of this study reveal the potential influence mechanisms of interpersonal interactions with various identities in livestreaming e-commerce, providing theoretical guidance and practical insights for practitioners in the field.

Egoistic value is positively associated with pro-environmental attitude and behaviour when the environmental problems are psychologically close.

Egoistic value is conceptualized as anti-environmental in many environmental value theories, yet contradictory evidence exists for its relation with pro-environmental attitude and behaviour. To provide insights into these inconsistent findings, this research examined the moderating role of the psychological distance of environmental problems on their relationship. Across one cross-sectional survey study (1008 community participants from the United States) and one World Values Survey study (66,704 nationally representative participants from 46 countries/regions), results converged in showing that psychological distance of environmental problems (i.e. climate change and local pollution) moderated the relationship between egoistic value and pro-environmental attitude and behaviour. Their association became more positive as that psychological distance got closer. Different patterns were observed for altruistic and biospheric values. These findings highlight the potential pro-environmental utility of egoistic value and the importance of paying attention to contexts when theorizing its relation with pro-environmental attitude and behaviour.

Place-based climate change: lowering students' psychological distance through a classroom activity.

Psychological distance (PD) can be a barrier to how students perceive climate change impacts and severity. Localizing climate change using place-based approaches is one way instructors can structure their curricula to help combat students' PD, especially from a spatial and social viewpoint. We created a novel classroom intervention that incorporated elements of place-based education and the Teaching for Transformative Experiences in Science model that was designed to lower undergraduate biology students' spatial and social distance of climate change. Our research questions sought to determine whether students' PD changed following our intervention and whether variables beyond our intervention might have contributed to changes we identified. To measure the efficacy of our intervention, we administered a survey that contained several instruments to measure students' recognition and psychological distance of climate change pre- and post-intervention. We found that students' psychological distance to climate change decreased after participating in our classroom intervention. Additionally, course level was the only outside variable we identified as a predictor of students' post-activity scores. Participation in our activity lowered our students' spatial and social psychological distance, which could have impacts beyond the classroom as these students become the next generation of scientists and voters.

The effect of psychological distance on intertemporal choice of the reward processing: an eye-tracking investigation.

This study employed eye-tracking technology to investigate how varying dimensions of psychological distance-temporal, probability, and social-affect intertemporal choice. Across three experiments, participants were asked to select between two intertemporal options while their eye movements were monitored. Findings revealed inconsistent impacts of different psychological distances on intertemporal decision-making. Increased temporal and social distances led to a preference for larger delayed rewards (Studies 1 and 3), whereas an increase in probability distance did not significantly alter choice preferences (Study 2). The research also highlighted a general pattern in information processing; as psychological distance widened, participants showed a tendency toward dimension-specific processing in making intertemporal decisions.

What Affects Perceived Trustworthiness of Online Medical Information and Subsequent Treatment Decision Making? Randomized Trials on the Role of Uncertainty and Institutional Cues.

Background. Online, algorithmically driven prognostic tools are increasingly important in medical decision making. Institutions developing such tools need to be able to communicate the precision and accuracy of the information in a trustworthy manner, and so many attempt to communicate uncertainties but also use institutional logos to underscore their trustworthiness. Bringing together theories on trust, uncertainty, and psychological distance in a novel way, we tested whether and how the communication of uncertainty and the presence of institutional logos together affected trust in medical information, the prognostic tool itself, and treatment decisions. Methods. A pilot and 2 online experiments in which UK (experiment 1) and worldwide (experiment 2) participants (Ntotal = 4,724) were randomized to 1 of 12 arms in a 3 (uncertainty cue) × 4 (institutional cue) between-subjects design. The stimulus was based on an existing medical prognostic tool. Results. Institutional trust was consistently associated with trust in the prognostic tool itself, while uncertainty information had no consistent effect. Institutional trust predicted the amount of weight participants reported placing on institutional endorsements in their decision making and the likelihood of switching from passive to active treatment in a hypothetical scenario. There was also a significant effect of psychological distance to (perceived hypotheticality of) the scenario. Conclusions/Implications. These results underline the importance of institutions demonstrating trustworthiness and building trust with their users. They also suggest that users tend to be insensitive to communications of uncertainty and that communicators may need to be highly explicit when attempting to warn of low precision or quality of evidence. The effect of the perceived hypotheticality of the scenario underscores the importance of realistic decision-making scenarios for studies and the role of familiarity with the decision dilemma generally. Highlights: In a world where information for medical decision making is increasingly going to be provided through digital, online tools, institutions providing such tools need guidance on how best to communicate about their trustworthiness and precision.We find that people are fairly insensitive to cues designed to communicate uncertainty around the outputs of such tools. Even putting "ATTENTION" in bold font or explicitly pointing out the weaknesses in the data did not appear to affect people's decision making using the tool's outputs. Institutions should take note, and further work is required to determine how best to communicate uncertainty in a way that elicits appropriate caution in lay users.People were much more sensitive to institutional logos associated with the outputs. Generalized institutional trust (rather than trust in the specific institution whose logo was shown) was associated with how trustworthy, accurate, and reliable the tool, its algorithm, and the numbers it produced were perceived to be. This underscores the role of societal trust in institutions at large.Finally, as a note to researchers, we found a significant effect of how hypothetical or believable participants felt the experimental scenario was. This is a variable that seems rarely controlled for in studies and yet played as much of a role as some of our variables of interest, so we suggest that it is measured in future experiments.

Too anthropomorphized to keep distance: The role of social psychological distance on meat inclinations.

Keeping a distance from food animals helps alleviate moral conflicts associated with meat consumption. Prior research on the 'meat paradox' has shown that physical distance from animals reduces negative emotional responses when consuming meat. However, even with physical distance, the presence of animals in meat advertisements and packaging can establish psychological contact. The impact of psychological distance on meat consumption and purchase inclinations has not been well explored. Through four experiments, we discovered that animal anthropomorphism psychologically brings consumers closer to food animals, resulting in reduced intentions to consume and purchase meat. Anthropomorphized animal images notably reduced social psychological distance for consumers with moderate to high (vs. lower) levels of anthropomorphic tendencies. Furthermore, the effect of anthropomorphism was influenced by moral self-efficacy. Specifically, when social psychological distance was reduced, consumers with higher (vs. lower) moral self-efficacy exhibited a significant decrease in their willingness to consume and purchase meat. These findings expand our understanding of the role of anthropomorphism in meat marketing, its limitations, and offer insights for sales strategies. Additionally, the research could inform public health policies on meat consumption, addressing environmental and ethical concerns tied to meat production amid growing worries about animal welfare.

Visual Assessment of Therapeutic Relationships in Psychiatric Patients: A Pilot Study Using the Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure.

BACKGROUND: Although the therapeutic relationship (or 'alliance') is well known to be a key component of psychiatric treatment, there has been no simple way to objectively measure the patient-therapist relationship. Here, we measured the psychological distance between patients and their therapists by using the Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure (PRISM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed the patient-therapist relationship of 112 patients from two hospitals in Japan (54 males, 57 females, 1 unknown; age 46.20 ± 15.03 years [mean ± SD]) who completed the PRISM and self report questionnaires (LSNS-6, K6, and BASIS-32) about their social network, psychological distress, and outcomes of mental health treatment. RESULTS: PRISM measurements were available for all patients who consented to participate. In the comparison by disease category, schizophrenia recorded the closest distance to the psychiatrist in charge, followed by bipolar disorder, depression, and neurotic disorder. Regarding the distance to the psychiatrist in charge, PRISM showed a weak negative correlation (r = -0.23, p < 0.05) with age, indicating that with increasing age, the therapeutic rela tionship was more important to the patients. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate the possibility of implementing PRISM to assess the impact of the therapeutic relationship in patients with a wide range of psychiatric disorders, and they suggest that PRISM holds great potential for clinical application.

Using distance-framed narratives to foster health communication outcomes among e-cigarette users and non-users.

This study examines the effectiveness of distance-framed narratives in deterring e-cigarette use among young adults. Through an online experiment (N = 916), this study investigates how narratives with different distance cues influence participants' narrative engagement, perceived psychological distance, and compliance with the message. The findings suggest that distance-framed narratives heighten identification. Increased identification reduces perceived psychological distance, leading to more negative attitudes, decreased e-cigarette use intention, and stronger policy support. E-cigarette use status also impacts persuasive outcomes. Non-users tend to be more receptive to narratives featuring congruent distance cues in character and scenario depictions. Users are motivated by narratives that present an uncertain scenario, regardless of whether the character is portrayed as socially close or distant.

A risk-risk trade-off assessment of climate-induced mortality risk changes.

The impact of climate change on human health was identified as a priority for the UN COP26 conference. In this article, we consider climate-induced changes to mortality risks and how to incorporate these formally in the policy appraisal process. In the United Kingdom (UK), the Value of Statistical Life (VSL) is used to monetarize the benefits of policies to reduce mortality risks but it remains an open, empirical question as to whether the current VSL (£2.14 million per fatality prevented, December 2021 values) for traffic accidents should be applied in other contexts without any modification and particularly for extreme weather event fatalities. Using a representative sample of the UK population, we aim to estimate and better understand the trade-offs people make when comparing mortality risks, drawing on psychological insights from construal level and regulatory focus theories. We design a stated preference survey using a relative valuation framework with nonmonetary, risk-risk trade-off questions between extreme weather event and traffic accident mortality risks. We find evidence of an extreme weather event risk premium of 1.2-1.6 (implying a climate-related VSL of £2.52-£3.41 million). We also find that participants who are psychologically close to climate change (based on construal level theory), weigh reducing extreme weather event mortality risks almost two times that of reducing traffic accident mortality risks.

Monkeypox outbreak: Psychological distance, risk perception, and support for risk mitigation.

Building on construal level theory, results from a survey based on a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (N = 1000) indicate an indirect effect of social distance and temporal distance perception on emotional response, policy support, and vaccination intention through risk perception. This study also reveals that social dominance orientation contributes to perceived psychological distance of the monkeypox outbreak. These results suggest that communication about a public health crisis such as monkeypox needs to emphasize its broader community impact, rather than focusing on the primary population affected.

"I am Young, Why Should I Vaccinate?" How empathetic and aggressive communication on social media impact young adults' attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination.

Introduction: To combat the current COVID-19 pandemic, high vaccination rates are of crucial value. However, young people in particular tend to be hesitant toward vaccination. On social media, young adults are often called to vaccinate in an aggressive tone, arguing that there is no choice than to vaccinate and that all else is wrong. Methods: In an experimental study (N = 410), we investigated the effects of (a) empathetic vs. aggressive communication styles in social media postings and (b) the origin of the communicator on young adults' supportive attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccinations. We treated the gender of the communicator as a moderator, and expectancy violation, psychological distance as well as the perceived credibility of the communicator as mediators. Results: Findings showed that an aggressive communication style generally had a negative impact on young adults' COVID-19 vaccination attitudes, fully mediated by expectancy violation and perceived credibility of the communicator. Gender and the origin of the communicator did not moderate this mediation processes. Discussion: Further implications for online health communication strategies are discussed.

How Social Identity Affects Green Food Purchase Intention: The Serial Mediation Effect of Green Perceived Value and Psychological Distance.

As the global population continues to grow, the impact of environmental damage and resource depletion has been severely increased. In this context, green food gains tremendous potential as a sustainable solution. This study establishes a model framework around social identity, psychological distance, green perceived value, and purchase intention from the perspective of social identity to explore the impact the social group has on individual green food purchase intention. Data from 497 questionnaires collected in China were validated using SPSS26 and SmartPLS4. The results demonstrated that the model exhibited excellent explanatory power for psychological distance (R2 = 47.5%), green perceived value (R2 = 48.2%), and purchase intention of green food (R2 = 54.7%). Path analysis showed that social identity, psychological distance, and green perceived value significantly positively affected green food purchase intention. The results also show that social identity significantly positively affected psychological distance and green perceived value, while psychological distance has a significant positive influence on green perceived value. Additionally, it is concluded that psychological distance and green perceived value have significant mediating and serial mediating effects on social identity and green food purchase intention. These findings bridge the research gap concerning consumers' green food purchase intention from a group perspective, thereby offering great insights for the formulation of sustainable policies. Furthermore, the study provides both theoretical and practical implications for the expansion of the green food consumption market.

Formative experiences and psychological distance in the lives of contemporary environmentalists.

Introduction: We use the term "environmentalists" to describe the people who are highly and actively engaged and involved in environmental issues like climate change. Environmentalists consistently advocate, research, or volunteer to do the work needed to address environmental challenges. Factors that drive contemporary environmentalists remain understudied. Methods: We, therefore, ask: what formative experiences drive environmentalists on climate change and other environmental problems at present? We frame this exploration through the significant life experiences (SLE) literature, which examines people and environmental pathways. We also ask: how do feelings of perceptual/actual distance or closeness to environmental threats and climate change shape a person's decision to become an environmentalist? We anchor this query to the psychological distance (PD) literature that explores how people perceive external phenomena and the role distance plays in their conception. To answer both questions, we use qualitative methods and draw on 33 interviews with environmentalists involved in environmental protection work for an average of 91 h in the past 4 weeks. Results: We find that environmentalists spoke about several formative experiences broadly consistent with what has been documented in the SLE literature. Traumatic experiences were especially influential for our sample of environmentalists. Our findings also reveal that PD, especially social, plays a role in the lives of environmentalists. Discussion: Study findings could help scholars and practitioners deepen their understanding of contemporary environmentalists. Practitioners, in particular, could use this knowledge to help environmentalists by providing them with tailored resources and support.