Receivers' Expectations for Abstract Versus Concrete Construal

Conversational Relevance as a Determinant of Construal Level

Bibliographic Data

ID2350217
AuthorsAnna E Clark (0000-0003-3951-6752, VU UNIVERSITY AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS,, corresponding author), Gün R Semin (0000-0002-5304-5566, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands)
Year2008
Volume27
Issue2
Pages155-167
Publication date2008-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Language and Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0261-927X • E-ISSN: 1552-6526
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0261927x07313645
OpenAlexW2119985115
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited17

How does conversational context shape the construal level of future events? According to construal-level theory, temporally distant events are construed more abstractly than close events due to an association between distance and construal level. The authors have argued that situated conversational relevancies determine construal level and therefore that construal level is flexible and determined in situ. Building on research that examined construal level in a language-production paradigm, this research examined the recipient's expectations for abstract versus concrete messages. Results supported the hypotheses that although temporal distance information should direct construal expectancies when shared knowledge information is not salient, social rules dictate that when salient, shared knowledge information determines construal level, overriding temporal distance. These findings support the reciprocal nature of conversational relevance and the symmetry between language production and reception

Cognitive psychology · Construal level theory · Geography · Linguistics · Salient · Situated · Computer Science · Cultural Differences and Values · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Psychology · Social Psychology · Artificial Intelligence