A Magnitude Effect in Judgments of Subjective Closeness

Abstract

Events can be far away from or near an observer in several respects: They can be distant or close in a spatial, temporal, social, or hypothetical sense. They can also vary in magnitude, physically, or in terms of impact and importance. We examine the existence of a general effect of perceived magnitude on judgments of subjective closeness. Studies 1 to 4 show that proximity judgments, of any type, are affected by the severity of an event so that a highly severe event will be described as closer than a less severe one. Study 5 demonstrates the Magnitude Effect for positive events. Finally, Study 6 shows that the effect can be extended to distances between comparable events, in addition to the distance from an observer to an event. We see the Magnitude Effect as a spillover from the scales used to describe events to the scales used to describe distances.