AUTHOR=Zhang Qing , Wei Wei , Li Ningchen , Cao Wen 

TITLE=The effects of psychological distance on spontaneous justice inferences: A construal level theory perspective

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1011497

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1011497

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Social justice represents a core issue in almost every social situation. On the basis of construal level theory (CLT) , we predicted that psychological distance which links levels of construal influenced spontaneous justice inferences. Using a prob recognition paradigm, two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of psychological distance on spontaneous justice inferences in Chinese cultures. The results consistently demonstrated the effects of psychological distance on spontaneous justice inferences. In concrete terms, participants made stronger spontaneous justice inferences when confronted with situation descriptions of justice-implying events occurring in the spatially distant than in the proximal location (Experiment 1) and in the distant future than in the near future condition (Experiment 2). These findings indicate that psychological distance can influence simplicity, unintentional processing of social justice inferences.