http://littlechartcc.co.uk/newenden-may-4th/ In the abstract condition, participants are asked to describe why they do things:

For every thing we do, there always is a reason why we do it. Moreover, we often can trace the causes of our behavior back to broad life-goals that we have. For example, you currently are participating in a psychology experiment. Why are you doing this? Perhaps to satisfy a course requirement. Why are you satisfying the course requirement? Perhaps to pass a psychology course. Why pass the course? Perhaps because you want to earn a college degree. Why earn a college degree? Maybe because you want to find a good job, or because you want to educate yourself. And perhaps you wish to educate yourself or find a good job because you feel that doing so can bring you happiness in life. Research suggests that engaging in thought exercises like that above, in which one thinks about how one’s actions relate to one’s ultimate life goals, can improve people’s life satisfaction. In this experiment, we are testing such a technique. This thought exercise is intended to focus your attention on why you do the things you do. For this thought exercise, please consider the following activity: `improving and maintaining one’s physical health.

In the concrete condition, participants are asked to describe how they do things:

For everything we do, there always is a process of how we do it. Moreover, we often can follow our broad life-goals down to our very specific behaviors. For example, like most people, you probably hope to find happiness in life. How can you do this? Perhaps finding a good job, or being educated, can help. How can you do these things? Perhaps by earning a college degree. How do you earn a college degree? By satisfying course requirements. How do you satisfy course requirements? In some cases, such as today, you participate in a psychology experiment. Research suggests that engaging in thought exercise like that above, in which one thinks about how one’s ultimate life goals can be expressed through specific actions, can improve people’s life satisfaction. In this experiment, we are testing such a technique. This thought exercise is intended to focus your attention on how you do the things you do. For this thought exercise, please consider the following activity: `improving and maintaining one’s physical health.