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

Abstract

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 influence of personality and coping style on the affective outcomes of nostalgia: Is nostalgia a healthy coping mechanism or rumination?

“…Verplanken (2012) observed that even though nostalgia initially resulted in an increase in positive affect, it ultimately increased anxiety and depression in habitual worriers. Other individual differences in the outcomes of nostalgic remembering have also been reported (Hart et al, 2011;Iyer & Jetten, 2011).…”

Collective nostalgia: A group-level emotion that confers unique benefits on the group.

“…CSE, in turn, is associated with psychological well-being, even when controlling for the effects of personal self-esteem (Crocker, Luhtanen, Blaine, & Broadnax, 1994). Future research should test whether collective nostalgia, by virtue of its capacity to strengthen CSE, promotes psychological wellbeing (Haslam, Jetten, Postmes, & Haslam, 2009;Iyer & Jetten, 2011) and whether these well-being benefits are contingent upon the quality (e.g., positive or negative, continuous or discontinuous) of the shared group experiences (Iyer & Jetten, 2011;Jetten & Hutchison, 2011). Another important implication is that, by increasing CSE, collective nostalgia may promote optimism about the future of society.…”

Back to the Future

“…Depressed persons, for example, may nostalgically reflect on their past in a way that disconnects it from present or future prospects, and they may even use such reflection to justify a pessimistic outlook (Iyer & Jetten, 2011;Verplanken, 2012).…”