Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Bi-directional effects of stimulus vertical position and construal level.

The article below may contain offensive and/or incorrect content.

We suggest that there is an association in people's minds between the vertical position of a stimulus (up vs. down) and its construal level (high vs. low), which results in bi-directional effects between the dimensions. In Study 1, participants exhibited both implicit and explicit associations between the dimensions. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated that stimulus construal level affects its vertical position, with participants showing a preference for positioning abstract concepts higher up and concrete concepts lower down. Study 4 testified to the effect of vertical positioning of information on its level of construal. Behaviors presented at the top of a display (more than those presented at the bottom) were construed in terms of why they are performed rather than how to perform them. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)