Research investigating the impact of mental construals on task performance suggests concrete representations as the mindset of choice when faced with a difficult task due to their anticipatory features. However, the current project claims that the consequences of mental construals on performance and motivation can only be fully understood when one considers the nature of the obstacles inherent in the difficult task.
Three studies investigated the impact of obstacle manageability and mental construal on task performance and motivation. Specifically, Study 1 provided evidence that abstract construals could indeed be more advantageous than concrete construals when faced with a difficult task. Study 2 then targeted the manageability of the obstacles inherent in the difficult task, while Study 3 sought to uncover possible mechanisms that would help explain the differential effects of construals under varying degrees of obstacle manageability.
The results revealed that abstract construals led to better task performance than concrete construals when the obstacles inherent in the task were deemed unmanageable. Possible cognitive and motivational influences are investigated and discussed.