This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 0261927X07313645v1 27/2/155    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Google Scholar Articles by Clark, A. E. Articles by Semin, G. R. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Receivers' Expectations for Abstract Versus Concrete Construal

Conversational Relevance as a Determinant of Construal Level

VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, ae.clark{at}psy.vu.nl

Gün R. Semin

Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

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.

Key Words: construal level • conversational relevance • shared knowledge • socially situated cognition • linguistic abstraction

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?