Construal Level Theory (CLT), developed by Trope and Liberman, explains how psychological distance shapes the mental representation of objects, events, and people (Trope & Liberman, 2010). The core assumption of the theory is that individuals represent psychologically distant stimuli at a higher level of construal, characterized by abstraction and emphasis on central, goal-relevant features, whereas psychologically close stimuli are represented at a lower level of construal, focusing on concrete, contextual, and incidental details. Psychological distance refers to the subjective experience that something is removed from direct experience, rather than to objective distance alone.

CLT identifies four primary dimensions of psychological distance: temporal distance (near vs. far in time), spatial distance (physical proximity), social distance (interpersonal closeness or similarity), and hypothetical distance (likelihood of occurrence). These dimensions are structurally equivalent in that increasing distance along any dimension promotes higher-level construals, whereas decreasing distance induces lower-level construals (Trope & Liberman, 2010). High-level construals are abstract, decontextualized, and stable across situations, capturing the essence or purpose of an action, whereas low-level construals are concrete, contextualized, and sensitive to situational constraints.

Importantly, CLT does not merely describe differences in mental representation but predicts systematic effects on judgment, evaluation, and behavior. High-level construals tend to increase the weight of desirability-related considerations, such as values, goals, and long-term outcomes, while low-level construals emphasize feasibility-related considerations, including practical constraints, effort, and implementation details (Liberman & Trope, 1998). These shifts occur reliably across psychological distance dimensions and are supported by extensive experimental evidence.

In marketing and advertising, CLT provides a powerful framework for understanding consumer responses to messages, products, and brands. Marketing communications often implicitly manipulate psychological distance through framing, imagery, or temporal cues, thereby influencing whether consumers adopt abstract or concrete representations. For example, messages targeting distant future consumption are more effective when emphasizing core benefits and symbolic meaning, whereas messages targeting imminent consumption benefit from highlighting concrete attributes and usage details (Trope, Liberman, & Wakslak, 2007).

CLT has also been applied to persuasion and risk communication. Research shows that temporal distance can attenuate the impact of negative information by shifting attention away from concrete risks toward abstract benefits, sometimes producing counterintuitive effects on consumer behavior (Steinhart, Carmon, & Trope, 2013). Additionally, persuasive appeals relying on creativity, metaphors, or symbolic associations tend to be more effective when recipients operate under high-level construals, consistent with the abstract nature of such messages (Yao, Shao, & Zhang, 2021).

Overall, Construal Level Theory offers a coherent and empirically grounded account of how psychological distance structures cognition and behavior. Its relevance for marketing and advertising lies in its ability to explain when and why certain message strategies are effective, making it a foundational framework for understanding consumer judgment and persuasion.

References

Liberman, N., & Trope, Y. (1998). The role of feasibility and desirability considerations in near and distant future decisions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(1), 5–18.

Steinhart, Y., Carmon, Z., & Trope, Y. (2013). Warnings of adverse side effects can backfire over time. Psychological Science, 24(9), 1842–1847.

Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2010). Construal-level theory of psychological distance. Psychological Review, 117(2), 440–463.

Trope, Y., Liberman, N., & Wakslak, C. (2007). Construal levels and psychological distance: Effects on representation, prediction, evaluation, and behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 17(2), 83–95.

Yao, F. S., Shao, J. B., & Zhang, H. (2021). Is creative description always effective in purchase intention? The construal level theory as a moderating effect. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 619340.