When seeing the forest reduces the need for trees: the role of construal level in attraction to choice

•Abstract construals promote a greater similarity focus when comparing objects.•Within choice-sets, abstract construals encourage belief that options are similar.•Similar options within choice-sets should be seen as more redundant.•Redundant options should decrease the appeal of having larger choice-sets.•Abstract construals were found to decrease attraction to larger choice-sets.

Research has shown that more abstract, higher-level thinking induces a greater focus on similarities when comparing things. Using this framework, I posited that individuals' attraction to choice-sets that included a larger number of options would be reduced when they engaged in more abstract thinking, because a greater focus on similarities would lead people to expect options to be more redundant, thereby lowering the expected benefit of having more of them. As predicted, I found that a more abstract (vs. more concrete) mindset reduced (and sometimes even eliminated) individuals' general tendency to prefer larger choice-sets across various hypothetical situations (e.g., purchases; Experiment 1) as well as two real-world helping situations (Experiments 2–4). Further, this effect appeared to be at least partially mediated by the degree to which people expected the options within a choice-set to be similar to one another (Experiment 4). Implications for choice are discussed.