When time flies: How abstract and concrete mental construal affect the perception of time.

Abstract

Time is experienced as passing more quickly the more changes happen in a situation. The present research tested the idea that time perception depends on the level of construal of the situation. Building on previous research showing that concrete rather than abstract mental construal causes people to perceive more variations in a given situation, we found in 3 studies that participants in a concrete mind-set experienced time as passing more quickly than participants in an abstract mind-set. In 2 further studies we demonstrated that the level on which actual changes happen in a given situation moderated this effect: Changes in high-level aspects mainly affected time estimation of participants primed with an abstract mind-set, whereas changes in low-level aspects affected time estimation of participants primed with a concrete mind-set.

The effect of construal level on time perceptions, confidence in judgements and future preferences

“…This rationale is in line with Hansen and Trope (2013) who speculated that immediate recall is an experience-based judgment, in contrast to a memory-based duration judgment that is produced in the case of a delay. In study 2, the construal manipulation (i.e., reflecting upon the how/why aspects of the event) seems to have effectively cued subjects to focus on different event features, which successfully distorted their duration estimates regardless of time delay.…”

“…It was advanced that the decision maker's construal mindset would provide explanatory insights. We are not alone speculating this to be the case; but in contrast to previous studies (Hansen and Trope, 2013;Kanten, 2011;Siddiqui et al, 2013), we examined how construal level operationalised at time of retrieval affects how a prior experience is reconstructed, rather than manipulating construal level at time of stimulus exposure, which would affect how one attends to and interprets an event. In Studies 1 and 2 it was found that duration estimates elicited under abstract construals are shorter than those produced by concrete construals (H1); but regardless of construal mindset, time estimates are shorter the longer the delay (H2), suggesting that in both abstract and construal mindsets relevant event-filling information is being forgotten the longer the delay.…”

“…These different mindsets would therefore affect both the type and quantity of event filling information, hence duration estimates. In contrast to recent research which examines the effect of construal mindsets on immediate recall of time perceptions (Hansen and Trope, 2013) as well as the prediction of future durations (Kanten, 2011;Siddiqui et al, 2014), we examine how activating an abstract versus concrete construal as a retrieval cue prior to providing a duration estimate but after exposure to the stimulusthus removing from consideration how construal level affects how one attends to and interprets an event as it transpires -affects retrospective duration estimates of a rich hedonic experience, the kind of experience one might wish to repeat.…”

“…Research investigating the link between construal levels and time perceptions manipulate individuals' construal mindset prior to exposure to a focal stimulus (Hansen and Trope, 2013;Kanten, 2011;Siddiqui et al, 2014), a situation that may not be available to marketing practitioners. Herein, we investigate how one's construal mindset affects the reconstruction of a past event, thus construal level is manipulated as a retrieval cue, an action that is often feasible to marketers.…”

The moderating role of construal level on the evaluation of emotional appeal vs. cognitive appeal advertisements

“…Then, they were asked to list three answers "why" or "how" they could maintain their physical health. Many studies have found that expressing "why" people pursue an action (the purpose of an action) temporarily induces high-level construal (abstract mindset), while expressing "how" people pursue an action (the process of an action) temporarily induces low-level construal (concrete mindset; Hansen and Trope 2013;Schmeichel et al 2011;Wakslak and Trope 2009). …”