Implicit association between proximity and negative representation in the structure-bound manner

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study included two experiments to determine whether the implicit association between psychological distance and valence would differ in the context of a structure-bound manner of experiencing. In Experiment 1, participants responded to a questionnaire that assessed individual differences in this manner and completed the proximity–distance Implicit Association Test (IAT) to measure the association strength between psychological distance and valence. Specifically, to categorize stimulus words that appeared in the center of the screen, participants were required to hit the right (I) or left (E) key as quickly and accurately as possible. Results showed that higher scores on a questionnaire of structure-bound manner of experiencing were associated with stronger implicit attitudes toward the proximity–negative and distance–positive directions. In Experiment 2, participants in the repetition (i.e., structure-bound) condition repeatedly performed a negative thought task, while those in the non-repetition condition performed a task to distract themselves from repetitive negative thoughts. The post-manipulation implicit attitudes denoting the distance-negative association were stronger in repetition condition than in non-repetition condition. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.