The Role of Temporal Distance on the Color of Future-Directed Imagery: A Construal-Level Perspective

This research investigates the effect of temporal distance on how consumers .see. the future through their mind.s eye. Drawing from construal-level and visual perception theories, we propose that shape (vs. color) is a high-level (vs. low-level) visual feature. Because construal of the distant (vs. near) future generally focuses on high-level (vs. low-level) features, when consumers visualize the distant (vs. near) future, they should engage in processing that captures shape (vs. color): namely, imagery that is relatively more black and white (vs. colorful). Experiment 1 establishes that shape is a constant focus of visualization regardless of the temporal distance of future events, whereas the focus on color decreases as temporal distance increases. Using image matching, image reconstruction, and behavioral response time measures, respectively, experiments 2A, 2B, 2C, 3, and 4 test and find that participants. visualization of the distant (vs. near) future is increasingly less colorful (i.e., more black and white). Experiment 5 establishes the underlying mechanism, showing that experimentally directing attention to high-level (vs. low-level) features directly promotes visualization that is less colorful (i.e., more black and white). Experiments 6A and 6B apply these findings to visual communications, suggesting that marketing messages about distant (vs. near) future events lead to greater willingness to pay when presented alongside black-and-white (vs. color) images.