Future events are far away: Exploring the distance-on-distance effect.

Four dimensions of psychological distance (temporal, social, spatial, and probabilistic) have been widely studied. This research examines the distance-on-distance effect where an event that is close or distal along one dimension of psychological distance will be judged to be close or distal along other dimensions. For example, individuals will perceive greater likelihood to win a lottery (probabilistic distance) if they sit closer to the prize (spatial distance). Drawing on 2 streams of findings in the construal level literature, I propose that this distance-on-distance effect is mediated by construal level induced by the known distance and only occurs when the psychological distance is egocentric. Five studies provide evidence supporting the basic effect, its underlying mechanism, and the boundary condition. These findings have important implications for the construal level literature, together with the research on distance perceptions.