The power of the past: Nostalgia as a meaning-making resource

In three experiments we tested whether nostalgia bolsters meaning in life relative to two other modes of autobiographical thought: imagining a desired future experience and recalling a positive past experience. In Experiment 1 participants thought about a nostalgic or desired future experience and then completed a presence of meaning scale. Thinking about a nostalgic (compared to desired future) experience increased perceived presence of meaning. In Experiment 2 we examined whether nostalgia can additionally reduce the search for meaning. Participants thought about a nostalgic, desired future or recent positive experience, and then completed a search for meaning scale. Nostalgia, relative to both comparison conditions, decreased the search for meaning. Finally we tested whether, by virtue of its capacity to increase meaning, nostalgia can mitigate threats to meaning. In Experiment 3 participants were exposed to either absurd or representational art, under the guise that they would later have to interpret its meaning, and then thought about either a nostalgic or a recent positive experience. Meaning was subsequently measured. The absurd art interpretation condition decreased the perceived presence of meaning but nostalgic reflection attenuated this effect.     

The power of the past: nostalgia as a meaning-making resource

In three experiments we tested whether nostalgia bolsters meaning in life relative to two other modes of autobiographical thought: imagining a desired future experience and recalling a positive past experience. In Experiment 1 participants thought about a nostalgic or desired future experience and then completed a presence of meaning scale. Thinking about a nostalgic (compared to desired future) experience increased perceived presence of meaning. In Experiment 2 we examined whether nostalgia can additionally reduce the search for meaning. Participants thought about a nostalgic, desired future or recent positive experience, and then completed a search for meaning scale. Nostalgia, relative to both comparison conditions, decreased the search for meaning. Finally we tested whether, by virtue of its capacity to increase meaning, nostalgia can mitigate threats to meaning. In Experiment 3 participants were exposed to either absurd or representational art, under the guise that they would later have to interpret its meaning, and then thought about either a nostalgic or a recent positive experience. Meaning was subsequently measured. The absurd art interpretation condition decreased the perceived presence of meaning but nostalgic reflection attenuated this effect.     

When past meets present: the relationship between website‐induced nostalgia and well‐being

The present research examined whether social media websites increase feelings of nostalgia, and whether this nostalgic reverie promotes psychological and social health. Specifically, in comparison to control conditions, participants exposed to the websites Dear Old Love and Dear Photograph reported greater feelings of nostalgia (Studies 1–3), positive affect (Studies 1 and 3), life satisfaction (Study 1), and relationship need satisfaction (Study 2). Further, mediational analyses revealed that increased thoughts of nostalgia heightened subjective well‐being and social connectedness. Study 3 showed that the relationship between nostalgia and positive affect was specific to the Dear Photograph website and did not generalize to any website focused on close relationships. The implications of this research for nostalgia, internet use, and well‐being are further discussed.     

What's left behind: Identity continuity moderates the effect of nostalgia on well-being and life choices

Previous research has demonstrated that nostalgia for the past can have positive consequences for individuals' psychological well-being and their perceived ability to cope with challenges in the present (Wildschut, Sedikides, Arndt, & Routledge, 2006). We propose that this effect is limited to circumstances in which individuals have maintained identity continuity between the past and the present. Support for this moderation hypothesis is obtained in a longitudinal survey (Study 1) and two experiments (Studies 2 and 3) among students entering university. Whereas previously observed positive effects of nostalgia were confirmed when identity continuity had been maintained, feeling nostalgic about the past in the context of lower identity continuity had negative consequences for well-being (Studies 1 and 3), perceived ability to cope with challenges (Studies 1 and 2), and interest in new opportunities (Studies 2 and 3) rather than focusing on familiar experiences (Study 3). Taken together, results indicate that the extent to which individuals view the present as linked to the past has important implications for the outcome of their nostalgia.     

The contradictory effects of nostalgic advertisements on nostalgia for products and on remembering advertisements1

Our purpose was to investigate the relationships between the names of items that easily evoke nostalgic feelings and nostalgic advertisements from the perspective of nostalgia for the names of these items and from the perspective of source monitoring. We measured the effect of nostalgia on source monitoring and whether the names of items evoked nostalgic feelings when they were presented alone. We found that, from the perspective of the nostalgic feelings, we directly demonstrated that the names of articles that easily evoke nostalgic feelings are more likely to evoke nostalgia when they are presented with nostalgic advertisements than when they are presented with non‐nostalgic advertisements. From the perspective of source monitoring, we revealed that nostalgic advertisements are more forgettable than non‐nostalgic advertisements when they present the names of articles that easily evoke nostalgic feelings.     

On misattributing good remembering to a happy past: An investigation into the cognitive roots of nostalgia

Reflections on the past are often accompanied by an experience of nostalgia, or positive sentiments about some prior stage of one's life. In the current study, we provide evidence suggesting that nostalgic experiences may occur because of positive feelings that accompany the act of successful recall, rather than reflecting the true nature of the past. In a series of experiments, we employed an encoding manipulation to cause some words to support more detailed recollections than others. In turn, we measured the effect of these manipulations on judgments of both pleasantness and the emotional valence of a prior stimulus encounter. We demonstrate that recollections rich in meaning are unique in biasing people to judge having previously seen a stimulus in an emotionally positive context. In contrast, pleasantness judgments appear to be guided primarily by perceptual fluency. Overall, our results are consistent with the notion that the subjective experience of nostalgia represents a misattribution of successful remembering to a pleasant past.     

怀旧的触发、研究范式及测量

怀旧指的是个体怀念过去的事物、人物、地方甚至经历或感受。它大多与美好的记忆联系在一起, 并会带来积极的情绪体验, 但同时可能也会引起消极的情绪体验。怀旧对维持个体身心健康有一定的积极效用。本文着重介绍了怀旧的触发因素包括客观刺激的视觉、嗅觉、听觉及主观刺激的消极情绪与低温知觉, 分析了其研究范式有质化研究(内容分析与扎根理论)、量化研究(问卷调查与经验取样法)和实验研究(单因素随机实验设计与多因素实验设计), 并介绍了其相关的测量工具。未来研究要加强主动怀旧与被动怀旧、积极怀旧与消极怀旧的探讨; 整合各种研究范式与强化纵向的追踪研究; 以及要区分特质型怀旧与状态型怀旧。     

It Was a Most Unusual Time: How Memory Bias Engenders Nostalgic Preferences

Nostalgic preferences are widespread—people believe past movies, music, television shows, places, and periods of life to have been better than their present counterparts. Three experiments explored the cognitive underpinnings of nostalgic preferences. Participants rated past experiences to have been superior to similar present and recent experiences. These nostalgic preferences appeared to be due to the belief that the atypically positive experiences that participants recalled at the time of judgment were more representative of their past experiences than of their present experiences. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A prologue to nostalgia: savouring creates nostalgic memories that foster optimism

How are nostalgic memories created? We considered savouring as one process involved in the genesis of nostalgia. Whereas nostalgia refers to an emotional reflection upon past experiences, savouring is a process in which individuals deeply attend to and consciously capture a present experience for subsequent reflection. Thus, having savoured an experience may increase the likelihood that it will later be reflected upon nostalgically. Additionally, to examine how cognitive and emotional processes are linked across time, we tested whether nostalgia for a previously savoured experience predicts optimism for the future. Retrospective reports of having savoured a positive event were associated with greater nostalgia for the event (Study 1). Retrospective reports of savouring a time period (college) were associated with greater nostalgia for that time period when participants were in a setting (alumni reunion event) that prompted thoughts of the time period (Study 2). Savouring an experience predicted nostalgia for the experience 4–9 months later (Study 3). Additionally, nostalgia was associated with greater optimism (Studies 2-3). Thus, savouring provides a foundation for nostalgic memories and an ensuing optimism.     

Sociality and intergenerational transfer of older adults’ nostalgia

Interest in nostalgia has blossomed, yet its nature in older adulthood and potential for intergenerational transfer to younger adults has remained neglected. In Experiment 1, we focused on the content of older adults’ nostalgic (vs. ordinary) recollections and asked whether older adults’ nostalgia could be transferred to younger adults. We showed that nostalgia expressed in older adults’ narratives was positively associated with nostalgia reported by young-adult readers. In Experiment 2, undergraduates read a nostalgic or ordinary narrative written by an older adult. Then they rated their own nostalgia as well as their perceived social connectedness, self-continuity, and meaning in life. Exposure to older adults’ nostalgic (vs. ordinary) narratives promoted concurrent nostalgia among young adults, along with associated psychological benefits (social connectedness, self-continuity, meaning). The findings illustrate the potential for intergenerational transfer of nostalgia through written narratives, and attest to the universality of nostalgic themes across younger and older adults.     

Nostalgic bonding: exploring the role of nostalgia in the consumption experience

The recently awakened awareness of the past has produced a flurry of research directed towards understanding the nostalgic aspects of the human condition, towards investigating the role of nostalgia in the lives of consumers, and towards the application of such knowledge to the design of marketing strategies. With rare exceptions, however, such research has pursued a quantitative survey‐based approach to establishing the chronology‐related and personality‐driven aspects of nostalgia. To explore the nature and types of nostalgic bonding in greater depth, the present study pursues an interpretive approach to understanding the role of nostalgia in the consumption experience. Specifically, it applies a collective approach to subjective personal introspection to draw inferences concerning the key types of nostalgic experience. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Theorizing the Temporal Aspect of Ikigai or Life Worth Living among Japanese University Students: a Mixed-Methods Approach

Although cross-cultural and non-Western studies have advanced our knowledge on well-being, many studies have adopted English words including ‘happiness’ as their guiding concepts, which may have limited and biased their insight. The current study is part of a larger mixed-methods project that theorizes how Japanese university students pursue ikigai or a life worth living. The first qualitative study, based on 27 photo-elicitation interviews, generated a grounded theory of houkousei, or life directionality. Our qualitative findings suggested that when students formed explicit associations among the past, present, and future, they gained strong ikigai feelings. These associations were developed either cognitively by mentally associating existing present experiences with the past or future, or behaviourally by strategically choosing current experiences more pertinent to the past or future than alternatives. These actions resulted in two subjective states: life legacy and life momentum. Life legacy was the perception that one’s past had meaningfully contributed to his or her present experiences, life, and self. Life momentum meant the belief that one’s present experiences were helping him or her achieve the desired future. Lastly, having defining past experiences and setting clear goals both facilitated the associative actions. To further validate this theory, we collected online survey data from a national sample of 672 Japanese students. Our quantitative results, based on partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), largely supported our theoretical model. Our findings are discussed in light of the ikigai and eudaimonic well-being literatures.

     

Odyssey's end: lay conceptions of nostalgia reflect its original Homeric meaning

Nostalgia fulfills pivotal functions for individuals, but lacks an empirically derived and comprehensive definition. We examined lay conceptions of nostalgia using a prototype approach. In Study 1, participants generated open-ended features of nostalgia, which were coded into categories. In Study 2, participants rated the centrality of these categories, which were subsequently classified as central (e.g., memories, relationships, happiness) or peripheral (e.g., daydreaming, regret, loneliness). Central (as compared with peripheral) features were more often recalled and falsely recognized (Study 3), were classified more quickly (Study 4), were judged to reflect more nostalgia in a vignette (Study 5), better characterized participants' own nostalgic (vs. ordinary) experiences (Study 6), and prompted higher levels of actual nostalgia and its intrapersonal benefits when used to trigger a personal memory, regardless of age (Study 7). These findings highlight that lay people view nostalgia as a self-relevant and social blended emotional and cognitive state, featuring a mixture of happiness and loss. The findings also aid understanding of nostalgia's functions and identify new methods for future research.     

The State,Not the Trait,of Nostalgia Increases Creativity

Nostalgic experience evokes emotions and activates the cognitive process of recalling and reconstructing information in memory. This study investigated the effects of nostalgia on creativity using experiments and questionnaires. Two-hundred-and-eighty university students were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, in which participants received and completed different writing tasks (nostalgic experience vs. common life experience). They also responded to questionnaires measuring personality, nostalgia proneness, and creativity. Results showed that participants who were primed with nostalgic experience demonstrated higher creativity than the control group. In both groups, women demonstrated higher creativity than men. When specific aspects of the nostalgic experience were used to predict creativity, results showed that: (a) nostalgia triggered by social interaction and negative affect was positively related to creativity; (b) nostalgic experience containing tangibles positively predicted creativity; (c) the total number of triggers and the amount of, but not the positivity or salience of self in, nostalgia narrative contributed positively to creativity; and (d) higher agreeableness and openness, but not nostalgia proneness or other personality traits, were associated with higher creativity. Implications for both research and practice are discussed.     

权力感知对怀旧偏好的影响机制

作者考察了权力感知对消费者怀旧偏好的影响及其心理机制。通过3个实验, 作者发现低权力者比高权力者更加偏好怀旧产品或怀旧品牌, 而寻找生活意义的动机在该影响过程中起中介作用。具体而言, 权力的缺失导致个体认为自己的生活缺乏意义, 进而激发出寻找生活意义的动机。由于怀旧可以通过回忆有意义的事件和提供社会支持两条途径来帮助个体重拾生活意义, 因此低权力的消费者倾向于进行怀旧消费。这一研究发现进一步丰富了现有的权力和怀旧文献, 并对怀旧营销的设计具有重要的实践指导意义。     

Heartwarming memories: Nostalgia maintains physiological comfort

Nostalgia, a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, is a predominantly positive and social emotion. Recent evidence suggests that nostalgia maintains psychological comfort. Here, we propose, and document in five methodologically diverse studies, a broader homeostatic function for nostalgia that also encompasses the maintenance of physiological comfort. We show that nostalgia--an emotion with a strong connotation of warmth--is triggered by coldness. Participants reported stronger nostalgia on colder (vs. warmer) days and in a cold (vs. neutral or warm) room. Nostalgia, in turn, modulates the interoceptive feeling of temperature. Higher levels of music-evoked nostalgia predicted increased physical warmth, and participants who recalled a nostalgic (vs. ordinary autobiographical) event perceived ambient temperature as higher. Finally, and consistent with the close central nervous system integration of temperature and pain sensations, participants who recalled a nostalgic (vs. ordinary autobiographical) event evinced greater tolerance to noxious cold.     

Fountain of youth: The impact of nostalgia on youthfulness and implications for health

The present research explored the impact of nostalgia on feelings of youthfulness, as well as the health benefits of nostalgia-induced youthfulness. Previous research indicates that feeling younger than one’s current age has positive implications for health. We predicted that, relative to ordinary autobiographical memories, nostalgic memories would make people feel more youthful. Further, we predicted that feelings of youthfulness would in turn lead to more positive attitudes about health and physical ability. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that, as people get older, nostalgic reverie relative to a control makes them feel more youthful. In Study 3, adults 40 and older who recalled a nostalgic memory from high school reported feeling more youthful than those who recalled an ordinary high school memory. Nostalgia-induced youthfulness in turn predicted the extent to which participants felt healthy, confident about their physical abilities, and optimistic about their future health. These findings suggest that nostalgia promotes a younger view of the self that may be beneficial for health.     

Nostalgic recollections of high and low narcissists

Two functions of nostalgia are consistently documented in the literature: self-positivity and social connectedness. These reflect agency and communion, respectively. Such dimensions are polarized no more than in narcissists, who are high in agency and low in communion. In three studies we tested whether high and low narcissists differ in the content of nostalgic recollections, whether they become nostalgic about different objects, and whether nostalgia serves different functions for them. High (versus low) narcissists made more agentic references in their narratives and manifested nostalgic proclivity toward agentic objects. Furthermore, nostalgia served a self-positivity function, but not a social connectedness function, for high (versus low) narcissists. Findings highlight the relevance of personality—narcissism, in particular—for the experience of nostalgia.     

Relationship Context,Body-Esteem,Religiosity, and Sexual Experience: Associations with Well-Being and Relationship Status

Abstract

In this study we explored why there are sometimes conflicting findings regarding the influence of past sexual experience on relationships. Consequently, we studied the effects of body-esteem and religiosity on sexual experience in two relational contexts (casual or committed relationships) and how all of these variables were associated with life satisfaction, and the likelihood that a person would be married by their early thirties. With a national sample of 4966 participants, our results indicated that sexual experiences in casual relationships had negative associations with life satisfaction and relationship status, whereas sexual experiences in committed relationships had positive associations.