Nostalgia promotes help seeking by fostering social connectedness.

Abstract

Individuals are often reluctant to seek help from others. Nostalgia is a highly social emotion that bolsters perceptions of connectedness with others. In six studies, we investigated whether nostalgia reduces individuals' general reluctance to reach out to others for help by virtue of its capacity to strengthen social connectedness (i.e., a sense of acceptance and support). In a preliminary study, we measured nostalgia, six comparator emotions, and help seeking. Nostalgia predicted help seeking, independently of the comparator emotions. In Experiments 1-4, we induced nostalgia (vs. control) and subsequently measured self-reported help seeking (Experiments 1-2), help seeking behavior (Experiments 3-4), and social connectedness (Experiments 2 and 4). Nostalgia increased self-reported help seeking (Experiments 1-2) and help seeking behavior (Experiments 3-4), and these effects were mediated by social connectedness (Experiments 2 and 4). In Experiment 5, we manipulated the social content of nostalgic reflections and measured help seeking behavior. Nostalgia pertaining to social (but not to non-social) past events increased help seeking. In all, nostalgia is a resource that facilitates help seeking by fostering social connectedness.

Fighting Social Isolation With Nostalgia: Nostalgia as a Resource for Feeling Connected and Appreciated and Instilling Optimism and Vitality During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The results were consistent with the proposition that turning back to the past helps individuals see a brighter future (Sedikides and Wildschut, 2020). It was also consistent with the idea that nostalgia helps achieve social goals (Juhl et al, 2021). Yet, the effect size of the experimental condition on nostalgia was smaller than the one observed in study 1.…”

“…The problem is that, naturally, individuals spend more time thinking about the future than the past ( Baumeister et al, 2016 ). Empirical findings on nostalgia suggest that experiencing nostalgia by recalling important life events could help individuals achieve their social goals indirectly ( Juhl et al, 2021 ). Similarly, conceptual developments on the functions of autobiographical also indicate the achievement of social goals as an important function ( Harris et al, 2014 ).…”

The Ties That Bind: University Nostalgia Fosters Relational and Collective University Engagement

“…Due to the self-report nature of this work and the potential social desirability demands of requests to donate or volunteer, participants’ self-reported intentions are likely to overestimate their actual readiness to sacrifice money or time for the alma mater ( Ajzen et al, 2004 ). However, given converging evidence that nostalgia does motivate actual giving and helping behavior (e.g., Zhou et al, 2008 ; Juhl et al, 2020a , b ), we expect that the trajectory of our findings would likely be replicated in future studies of in vivo behavior.…”

“…Future research should examine more closely the possible role of nostalgia in forgiveness and repairing social bonds. It is possible, for example, that dispositional nostalgia for a group, such as one’s university, promotes forgiveness of perceived offenses through greater willingness to empathize ( Juhl et al, 2020b ) or engage in recollection that might be painful ( Batcho, 2013 ) of past offenses by individuals within the university. This finding resonates with the idea, voiced so elegantly by Dostoyevsky (2007) in The Brothers Karamazov , that “… if one has only one good memory left in one’s heart, even that may sometime be the means of saving us” (p. 868).…”

How Does Nostalgia Conduce to Global Self-Continuity? The Roles of Identity Narrative, Associative Links, and Stability

“…Nostalgia is related to and augments approach motivation (Juhl et al, 2021;Stephan et al, 2014), which orients the individual toward the future. Nostalgia is also related to and elevates optimism (Cheung et al, 2013;Kersten et al, 2016).…”