The Impact of Power Distance Belief and Psychological Distance on Decision-Making: An Abstract

Abstract

Socialization processes advocate that we all should seek the “best.” Businesses seek the best customers, employees, and suppliers, and customers seek the best products. For example, students strive to find the best university, major, professor, and academic grade record. A reality check shows that some individuals settle for a “good enough” option. Psychological distance is defined as “a subjective experience that something is close or far away from the self, here, and now” (Trope and Liberman 2010, p. 440). Time, space, social distance, and hypotheticality are the different distance dimensions in which an object might be removed from the self, here, and now (Trope and Liberman 2010). Of particular importance for this study is the social distance dimension defined as the subjective perception or experience of distance between the self and another person or other persons (Stephan et al. 2010). Different forms of social distance exist (e.g., similarity and power). In construal level theory (CLT), social power may cause a sense of distance from others (Trope and Liberman 2010). Previous research has found that individuals in high power positions perceive themselves as more distant from others than those individuals with low power (Hogg 2001). As a result of individuals with social power feeling distant from others, they are influenced to construe information abstractly, establish clear priorities, focus on the central aspects of situations, and disregard secondary aspects (Trope and Liberman 2010). In summary, this research proposes that the level of PDB will influence individuals’ decision-making, that is, whether individuals will maximize or satisfice. In the business world, some consumers make satisficing vs. maximizing decisions. Understanding the process which influences consumers to pursue satisficing vs. maximizing behavior is critical for the effectiveness of marketing messages, success of businesses, and welfare of consumers. Preliminary findings suggest that consumers with high power distance belief are more likely to engage in satisficing behavior and also exhibit higher levels of psychological distance versus consumers with low power distance belief.