What is Construal Level Theory in Psychology?

This describes how psychological distance affects the way in which human beings perceive various things. Objects or events that are distant to the human mind are generally perceived to be more abstract than things that are closer to the mind. Among other things, the idea has been used to explain how modern warfare desensitises soldiers from the stigma of killing fellow human beings. As soldiers using modern warfare technology can kill fellow human beings at a comfortable distance without having to be directly exposed to the effects of killing, they are prone to construe killing as an abstract action.

Source: The Hindu, 10/09/2018