Developing a General Construal Questionnaire
thinking and concrete thinking shape how we interpret and interact with the world. One of the most influential approaches to abstract and concrete construals is Construal Level Theory, which has primarily taken a situational approach to studying construal level. The current research develops the General Construal Questionnaire to measure individuals' general tendencies toward abstract and concrete thinking, opening possibilities for new research that extends past the focus on situational construal. Distinguishing abstract and concrete construals as distinct factors reveals that they have unique effects. Abstract construal correlates with extraversion, openness to experience, a focus on the future, promotion, and desirability, a preference for cognition, tolerance for uncertainty, and a tendency to perceive similarities, stereotype, and evaluate. Concrete construal correlates with conscientiousness, a focus on the present, prevention, and feasibility, a preference for certainty and perfectionism, and a tendency to perceive differences and make daily progress.
Authors
- Michele Williams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4921-4371)
- Batia M. Wiesenfeld (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6854-1976)
- Robert D. Barrett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3402-3377)
- Yidan Yin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2037-1901)
- Cheryl Wakslak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9748-1896)
Institutions
- University of Southern California (US)
- University of Iowa (US)
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Midway University (US)
- New York University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- Published
- 2025-03-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672251321318
- Primary Topic
- Cultural Differences and Values
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00