"We Used to Have Four Seasons, but Now There Is Only One": Perceptions Concerning the Changing Climate and Environment in a Diverse Sample of Israeli Older Persons

Solastalgia is the pain caused by the loss of solace and isolation from one's environment. Solastalgia is contrasted with nostalgia, which is defined as melancholy characterized by homesickness or the distance from one's home. The present study examines the two concepts of solastalgia and nostalgia in the context of climate change among diverse populations of older Israelis. In total, 50 older persons from four different population groups (e.g., veteran Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and Ethiopian immigrants) were interviewed. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically. Members of all four groups expressed emotional distress and grief associated with the changing climate, increased environmental pollution, and the disappearance of nature. Perceptions around the undesirability of these changes were quite unanimous, thus leading us to conclude that the outcomes associated with solastalgia and nostalgia are quite similar despite different etiological explanations.

Mental Time Travel as Self-Affirmation

ACADEMIC ABSTRACT

This article integrates and advances the scope of research on the role of mental time travel in bolstering the self. We propose that imagining the self in the future (prospection) or in the past (retrospection) highlights central and positive self-aspects. Thus, bringing to mind one's future or past broadens the perceived bases of self-integrity and offers a route to self-affirmation. In reviewing corresponding research programs on self-prospection and nostalgia, we illustrate that mental time travel serves to affirm the self in terms of self-esteem, coherence, and control. Mental time travel could be implemented as a source of self-affirmation for facilitating coping and behavior change in several domains such as relationships, health, education, and organizational contexts.

PUBLIC ABSTRACT

People can mentally travel to their future or to their past. When people imagine what they will be like in the future, or what they were like in the past, they tend to think about themselves in terms of the important and positive attributes that they possess. Thinking about themselves in such an affirming way expands and consolidates their self-views. This broader image of themselves can increase self-esteem (the extent to which one likes who they are), coherence (the extent to which one perceives life as meaningful), and control (the extent to which one feels capable of initiating and pursuing goals or effecting desirable outcomes). Mental time travel, then, has favorable or affirming consequences for one's self-views. These consequences can be harnessed to modify one's behavior in such life domains as relationships, health, education, and work.

Trajectory of Nostalgia in Emerging Adulthood

We examined the change and stability of nostalgia in emerging adulthood. We followed 327 students through their 4 university years with six assessments. Nostalgia demonstrated moderate rank stability (r = .25-.79). A Trait-State-Occasion model analysis indicated that the stable trait component, slowing-change trait component, and state component explained 37% to 43%, 10% to 27%, and 29% to 49% of variation in nostalgia on specific occasions, respectively. Longitudinal multilevel analysis revealed that the mean nostalgia level declined across university years. Greater intensity of negative life events at the start of university was associated with higher initial nostalgia and slower decline of it, while the emotion intensified when experiencing more negative life events. Nostalgia in emerging adulthood displays moderate stability, with negative life events contributing to the shape of its trajectory.

Blinded by wistfulness: on how nostalgia strengthens attitudes

Across four studies, we explored how feeling nostalgic about an attitude object impacts the metacognitive characteristics of the attitude toward that object and how those metacognitions predict the evaluation's underlying strength. In each study, participants reflected on and evaluated a song or television show that either did or did not elicit nostalgia. Across these studies, we found support for the hypotheses that nostalgic attitude objects are viewed more positively, appraised with greater attitudinal importance, and exhibited less objective ambivalence. In Study 4, we observed that nostalgic attitudes are associated with greater behavioural intentions and that this relationship was mediated both by attitudinal importance and objective ambivalence. These studies contribute to our understanding of how nostalgia affects attitude formation processes.

Nostalgia, Ritual Engagement, and Meaning in Life

Rituals are pervasive and beneficial. Little is known, however, about causes or antecedents of ritual engagement. We hypothesized that nostalgia-a sentimental longing for one's past-promotes ritual engagement, which in turn augments meaning in life. We tested this hypothesis in five methodologically diverse studies. In Study 1 (N = 311), nostalgia was positively associated with ritual engagement. In Study 2 (N = 188), nostalgia promoted ritual engagement, and in Study 3 (N = 296), it did so over engagement in a neutral task. In Study 4 (N = 252), nostalgia predicted later ritual engagement but not vice versa, convergent with Studies 2 and 3. Furthermore, nostalgia prospectively predicted meaning in life through specific ritualistic behaviors during a traditional festival. Finally, in Study 5 (N = 166), experimentally manipulated ritual engagement augmented meaning in life. As hypothesized, nostalgia advances ritual engagement, contributing to a meaningful life.

Exploring Effects of a Nostalgic Storytelling Virtual Reality Experience Beyond Hedonism

In this study, we tested the effect of a nostalgic storytelling virtual reality (VR) experience (vs. a text-reading neutral VR experience as the comparison condition) on state-level eudaimonic well-being and explored the underlying mediating mechanisms. In a within-subject experimental design, all 31 participants experienced both versions of the VR in pseudorandomized and counterbalanced order. Compared with the text-reading VR experience, the nostalgic storytelling VR resulted in significantly higher hedonic and eudaimonic entertainment media gratifications (aka. media enjoyment and media appreciation, respectively), social connectedness, and state-level well-being. Moreover, the relationship between VR and well-being was serially mediated by the level of state nostalgia and eudaimonic media gratifications. That is, the nostalgic storytelling VR was found to evoke state nostalgia, which led to a greater appreciation of the VR experience; this appreciation, in turn, contributed to increased state-level well-being. Implications of the study findings for future research and practice are discussed.

Stations Along the Via Dolorosa Towards Good-Enough Endings

This article focuses on the prevailing aspiration to reach a "good-enough ending" in analysis, a concept that is partly realistic and partly illusional. I discuss some of the obstacles that interfere with achieving this yearned for goal, and lead to endings that are far from the misleading illusion of the good-enough termination, that many of us believe we have achieved and are many more than it is commonly reported. I describe characteristics, obstacles, blockages, dreads within the analysand, within the analyst and in the space in between, which lead to endings which are far from good enough, by any criteria we might choose. These obstacles include the failure to distinguish between "real" versus "similar to"; emotional excess; emptying out of internal resources and toxemia of therapy/analysis; a fascination with certain levels of mind versus a neglect of others; osmotic pressure for oneness and the terror of perfection; and malignant nostalgia. Reflecting on such complex facets in the analytic process is relevant not only for a deeper understanding of illusions that we and our analysands hold with regard to endings, but also, implicitly, to the understanding of illusions, beliefs, and myths we and our patients have regarding beginnings.

Writing to your past-self can make you feel better

Self-compassionate writing has been shown to be helpful for improving the mental state in some individuals. Here, we investigated how the writer's attitude toward his/her past, present and future and the focus of the writing, i.e., social experience in the past versus self-experience, modulate these effects. In Experiment 1, 150 undergraduates wrote a compassionate letter to their past-self and to their future-self and responded to the Japanese version of the Adolescent Time Inventory-Time Attitudes (ATI-TA) questionnaire. Writing to past-self decreased negative feelings more than writing to future-self. Further, participants who had negative feelings toward their past, present, and future, as assessed by the ATI-TA, were more likely to be emotionally affected by writing a letter to their past-self. In Experiment 2, 31 undergraduates wrote a letter focusing on what they had experienced together with someone, and another 31 undergraduates wrote focusing on what they had experienced alone. Focusing on a social experience was more helpful for recovering from negative feelings than focusing on a self-experience. In conclusion, writing a compassionate letter to one's past-self can improve mood, especially in individuals with a negative time attitude who focus their writing on a social connection.

Temporal Landmarks and Nostalgic Consumption: The Role of the Need to Belong

This study investigates the influence of temporal landmarks on nostalgic consumption through the mediating role of the need to belong. In particular, the study identifies end landmarks as one of the triggers of landmarks, a phenomenon that has not been studied in the existing nostalgic consumption literature. The research is composed of one pilot study and three experiments to test our research hypotheses. The results show that end temporal landmarks trigger feelings of nostalgia, which leads to nostalgic consumption through the need to belong. This study underscores the mediating role of the need to belong, which plays an important role in leading to nostalgic consumption. Building upon theoretical perspectives on the need to belong, our study enriches the research literature by linking extreme consumer emotional statuses, such as social anxiety, to the consumer need to belong, showing that consumer nostalgic consumption can become a coping strategy that counteracts these negative feelings and helps in regaining connection and supporting social relationship networks. Marketers may use the signs of end temporal landmarks to increase consumers' nostalgia, which, in turn, will enhance consumers' need to belong and thus lead to the purchasing and consumption of nostalgic products.

Collective UK nostalgia predicts a desire to leave the European Union

Collective nostalgia is an emotion experienced when one sentimentally recalls events or things related to a particular social identity. We investigated the relationship between collective nostalgia about the United Kingdom (UK) and UK citizens' desire to leave the European Union (EU). We collected data of UK citizens twice prior to the UK's official withdrawal from the European Union (N = 347 and N = 240) and once afterwards (N = 236). Cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis, utilizing cross-lagged panel models, supported the hypothesis that collective UK nostalgia increased the desire to leave the European Union. We additionally hypothesized that the relationship between these variables would be mediated positively by ties to UK citizens and negatively by ties to EU citizens. Exploratory and longitudinal analysis, however, indicated that strength of ties to UK and EU citizens predicts levels of collective UK nostalgia which, in turn, predicts desire to leave the European Union. Specifically, ties to UK citizens were associated with increased collective nostalgia and a desire to leave the EU and ties to EU citizens were associated with reduced collective nostalgia and a desire to re-join the European Union. We discuss the implications of the findings as well as making suggestions for future studies.

The utility of nostalgia for unhealthy populations: A systematic review and narrative analysis

Nostalgic reverie (i.e. sentimental longing) has received increased attention as a predictor of health and well-being, but only a handful of reviews have summarized this literature. The available reviews (Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 19, 2020, 330; Intimations of nostalgia: Multidisciplinary explorations of an enduring emotion, Bristol University Press, 2022) left a critical gap in explicating the function of nostalgia among people engaged in unhealthy behaviour. In the current systematic review and narrative analysis, we sought to answer whether and under what conditions emotion serves to help or hinder people engaged in unhealthy behaviours in terms of taking action to change. We identified 14 studies and categorized them into two themes. In Theme I, nostalgising about a time in one's life when one was healthier motivated both readiness to change and action to change unhealthy behaviour. In Theme II, nostalgizing about the perceived benefits of engaging in unhealthy behaviour (e.g. social connectedness related to drinking) was associated with the continuance or acceleration of the unhealthy behaviour. This review highlights not only the presence of a link between nostalgia and unhealthy behaviour but also that the content of one's nostalgising matters for understanding whether the unhealthy behaviour is undermined or bolstered.

Increasing exercise participation during the COVID-19 pandemic: the buffering role of nostalgia

Introduction

Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, people faced difficulties engaging in exercise activities as usual. As a result, there has been an increase in the demand for home exercises and online sales. However, there is little research on individuals' buying and exercise behaviors during the pandemic. Thus, this study investigated how the perceived threat of COVID-19 influences exercise participants' compensatory consumption and exercise intention through emotional responses, such as feelings of solastalgia and nostalgia.

Methods

A total of 488 responses were collected from Generation Y, as individuals belonging to Generation Y are more prone to impulsive buying compared to other generations and, importantly, consider exercise a crucial component of their general well-being. Data were examined using a three-step method that involved the use of SPSS 26.0 and EQS 6.4 software.

Results

Results showed that perception of COVID-19 positively influenced solastalgia and negatively affected nostalgia. Also, solastalgia had positive effects on nostalgia and online browsing, and nostalgia positively affected online browsing. Finally, this study found that online browsing positively influenced impulse buying and exercise intention, while impulse buying did not significantly affect exercise intention.

Conclusion

This study contributes to identifying the crucial influence of emotions in decision-making and increasing the understanding of the connection between nostalgia and cognitive and emotional responses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Distress prospectively predicts higher nostalgia, and nostalgia prospectively predicts lower distress

OBJECTIVE

We were concerned with the relation between distress and nostalgia. At the state level, extensive research has established that momentary nostalgia is evoked by (experimentally manipulated) distress. However, at the trait level, the directionality of this relation is unclear. We conducted a longitudinal study to clarify the directional relation between these two constructs.

METHOD

We surveyed first-year university students (N = 3167) twice across six months. We assessed nostalgia, psychological distress (depression), and physical distress (somatization) at both timepoints. We also assessed Big Five personality at the first timepoint.

RESULTS

Initial distress prospectively predicted increased nostalgia, and initial nostalgia prospectively predicted reduced distress, six months later and independently of the Big Five.

CONCLUSIONS

Habitual nostalgia follows rather than precedes naturalistically occurring distress and serves to relieve it.

Volunteers' growth mindset and continuance intention: what are the roles of nostalgia and positive emotions?

This study examined the cognitive and affective aspects of volunteering experiences by focusing on the relationships between volunteers' growth mindset, nostalgia, positive emotions, and their intention to continue volunteering. A total of 364 responses were collected from volunteers who had volunteered within the past 5 years. Results showed that the growth mindset had a positive effect on nostalgia, which in turn positively affected valenced emotions toward volunteering. Nostalgia and volunteers' positive emotions positively influenced their intention to continue volunteering. All indirect effects via nostalgia were significant. This study lays the groundwork to identify the role of nostalgia in volunteerism and contributes to extending the literature on growth mindset and mindset theory.

Nostalgia Promotes Parents' Tradition Transfer to Children by Strengthening Parent-Child Relationship Closeness

Parental tradition transfer to children is pivotal for their socialization, identity formation, and culture perpetuation. But what motivates parents to transfer traditions to their children? We hypothesized that nostalgia, an emotion strengthening interpersonal bonds, would promote tradition transfer through parent-child relationship closeness. We tested these hypotheses using cross-sectional (Studies 1 and 4), cross-lagged (Study 2 and preregistered Study 5), and experimental (Studies 3 and 6) designs. In Studies 1 to 3, nostalgia was associated with, had lagged effect on, and promoted tradition transfer. In Studies 4-6, parent-child relationship closeness mediated the link between nostalgia and tradition transfer. The findings enrich our understanding of the vertical transmission of knowledge, customs, and values, offering insight into how intergenerational bonds are reinforced and cultural heritage is maintained.

Reminiscence bump invariance with respect to genre, age, and country

We report a cross-cultural study investigating musical reminiscence bumps, the phenomenon whereby adults remain emotionally invested in the music they preferentially listened to in adolescence. Using a crowdsourcing service, 4,824 participants from 102 countries were each required to recall five songs (titles and artist names), resulting in a 24,120-song study. In addition, participants provided demographic information and answered questions relating to the songs they recalled, such as age first listened to, levels of nostalgia, and associated emotions. Song titles and artist names were cleaned and genre information established through fuzzy matching recalled information to songs within an open-source music encyclopedia. These data, plus participants' demographic information, allowed reminiscence bumps differentiated by age, sex, country, and genre preference to be explored. Recency-bias effects of recalled songs were also investigated. Results demonstrated that the musical reminiscence bump phenomenon is common to all age groups and both sexes, pervasive across all countries, and is not restricted to particular genres. In sum, musical reminiscence bumps appear to be biologically and culturally ubiquitous.

A Closer Look on the Relation Between Nostalgia and Risk-Taking

Building on the work of Zou et al. we (re-)investigated the relation between nostalgia and financial risk-taking across three preregistered, well-powered studies (overall N = 2,804). In Studies 1 and 2, we first tested whether nostalgia fosters or hampers dysfunctional or functional financial risk-taking. Finding no evidence to suggest that nostalgia fosters or hampers neither functional nor dysfunctional financial risk-taking, we tested in Study 3 if the link between nostalgia and financial risk-taking reported by Zou et al. could be replicated and extended to other domains of risk-taking. By and large, the relation between nostalgia and financial risk-taking could not be replicated nor extended to any other domains of risk-taking. Combined, the results nourish doubt on the robustness of the link between nostalgia and risk-taking observed by Zou et al.

The resentful undergrowth of nostalgia: Ontological insecurity, relative deprivation and powerlessness

This article untangles competing conceptualisations of nostalgia and identifies a specific form of collective-restorative nostalgia as politically significant. We argue that the link between resentment and this type of nostalgia emerges from their joint critique of the socio-political realities of the present. Nostalgia provides spatial and temporal orientations for a group's experiences of resentment through highly selective recollections of the heartland and an idealised golden age. We hypothesize that nostalgia leverages the heartland and the golden age to formulate claims for recognition and restored status on behalf of those who feel left behind by late modernity. Next, the article uses structural equation modelling and the 2019 Belgian National Election Study to reveal how resentment (consisting of ontological insecurity, group relative deprivation, and powerlessness) mediates between structural characteristics and nostalgia. Our findings suggest that each component of resentment individually contributes to explaining the nostalgia of less educated and economically deprived individuals.

Nostalgic Social Media Use and Psychological Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Physical and social distancing practices mandated during the COVID-19 pandemic posed serious threats to mental health on a global scale. Drawing upon the literature on nostalgia as a coping resource and the psychological benefits of nostalgic media use, we investigated the relationship between nostalgic social media use and psychological well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic, considering perceived self-continuity as a mediator. An online survey conducted with a U.S. sample in June 2021 (Study 1; N = 485) showed that nostalgic social media use was positively associated with greater perceived self-continuity, which, in turn, positively predicted emotional well-being. These findings were replicated and extended by a follow-up online survey conducted with a South Korean sample in October 2021 (Study 2; N = 1,510). In addition to replicating the mediation results from Study 1, Study 2 demonstrated that the mediation was significantly moderated by household type (single-person vs. multiperson household). Specifically, those living alone, compared to those living with one or more cohabitants, were more likely to benefit from nostalgic social media use, maintaining higher levels of life satisfaction amid the global health crisis. Implications of these findings are discussed.

The effect of COVID-19 risk perception on pro-environmental behavior of Chinese consumers: Perspectives from affective event theory

Introduction

COVID-19 has altered human cognition and changed the cultural values of society. However, there has not been much debate among scholars about whether these above changes have led to an increase in pro-environmental behavior (PEB) of Chinese consumers.

Methods

A comprehensive model was developed based on affective event theory. An online questionnaire was distributed, and 501 usable questionnaires were collected. In addition, two complementary approaches were employed: partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA).

Results

The PLS-SEM results showed that COVID-19 risk perception, nostalgia, the awe of nature, and attitude were found to have a positive effect on PEB; and the moderating effect of power distance belief (PD) between nostalgia (NO), attitude (AT) and PEB was confirmed. According to the NCA results, AT and NO are necessary conditions for the PEB of consumers.

Discussion

This study provides deeper insight into the understanding of consumers' pro-environmental behavior in the context of COVID-19 through the combined use of PLS-SEM and NCA.

The dark side of nostalgia: Yearning for the past fosters bribe-taking

Past work has demonstrated the psychological benefits of nostalgia; however, little is known about its 'dark side'. Considering both the sociality of nostalgia and the relational nature of bribery, we proposed that nostalgia would bolster social connectedness, which, in turn, would promote bribe-taking. We conducted four experiments (N = 887 online and laboratory participants) to test this assumption. Experimentally induced nostalgia boosted the willingness to take a bribe across different scenarios (Experiments 1 and 2) and facilitated bribe-taking behaviour (Experiment 3); the increased social connectedness accounted for these effects (Experiments 2 and 3). Furthermore, the positive effect of social connectedness on bribe-taking was salient, especially when bribe-taking was framed as a way of establishing social relationships (Experiment 4). The findings not only broaden our understanding of nostalgia and bribe-taking but also provide practical implications for anti-bribery initiatives.

Environmental cues for healthy food marketing: The importance of in-store research into three conversions

Since retailers control the space where consumers tend to make the vast majority of their food purchase decisions, they can take measures to promote healthy living. Increasing relative sales of healthy food can contribute to the ongoing battle against preventable lifestyle diseases. We show how retailers can use impression management and environmental cues in their stores to influence consumers' sales responses to healthy food. This paper advocates in-store research in this realm and introduces three consumer behavior levels - reaching, stopping/holding, and closing the sale - as micro-conversions when retailers use impression management on their consumers. We showcase impression management at each conversion level by testing the effects of placing healthy and unhealthy food items on a floor display in the store area with the most traffic, with or without background music and an advertisement. The results demonstrate that a healthy food product can outperform the sales of popular unhealthy foods. The floor display, for example, increased the sales of the targeted "healthy product" by 570% on average during the intervention periods, compared with the baseline. We discuss the importance of in-store research into three conversions to enable further development of impression management and the use of environmental cues for healthy food promotion.

How nostalgic taste on the screen stimulates the consumption of time-honoured restaurants: The mediation role of parasocial interaction

As a unique cultural asset, time-honoured restaurants carry the crystallisation of traditional cuisine and the spirit of artisanship with an inestimable value. Nostalgia is a characteristic element of time-honoured restaurants and the central theme of their online marketing. However, few studies have examined the effect of nostalgia evoked in bloggers' content on consumer behaviour in the context of time-honoured restaurants. To fill this gap, this study employed the SOR model as an underpinning theory and selected parasocial interaction among bloggers and viewers as a mediation to examine how the nostalgic taste on the screen affected behavioural intention towards time-honoured restaurants. Emotional involvement and credibility were also added as variables to enrich the research framework from cognitive and affective perspectives. A PLS-SEM approach was used to analyse the research models, including evaluating the measurement and structure models. The result, tested by the online survey data from 319 valid responses, demonstrated that nostalgia evoked in bloggers' content can directly facilitate parasocial interaction or indirectly through credibility and emotional involvement, finally resulting in behavioural intention. The fully mediating role of parasocial interaction between emotional involvement and behavioural intention was also confirmed. The findings of this study offer theoretical and practical implications, highlighting the critical roles of nostalgia and parasocial interaction in the mechanism that online stimulus influences realistic behavioural intention, and therefore exploring a way forward for time-honoured restaurant marketing that fits in with the online media age.

Variation in bittersweet nostalgic feelings and their divergent effects on daily well-being

Experimental manipulations of nostalgia that privilege positive aspects of the bittersweet emotion have led to the conclusion that nostalgia is a predominantly positive emotion, yet nostalgia covaries negatively with well-being in daily life. To reconcile this discrepancy, we developed and tested the bittersweet variation model of nostalgia that posits that (a) nostalgic feelings vary not only in intensity but also in valence (i.e., how bitter or sweet a nostalgic feeling is); (b) daily events influence the valence of nostalgic feelings; and (c) nostalgia's valence influences well-being. Across two daily diary studies (N = 151; 1,356 daily reports), we found that the valence of nostalgic feelings varied considerably within-persons. Daily positive events predicted more positively rated nostalgic feelings, whereas daily negative events predicted more negatively rated nostalgic feelings. Controlling for the effects of daily events on well-being, positive nostalgic feelings predicted greater well-being, whereas negative nostalgic feelings predicted lower well-being. To provide more robust causal evidence of the effect of nostalgia valence on well-being, we conducted two experiments (N = 445) in which we manipulated nostalgia valence by asking participants to write about positive nostalgic feelings (involving people they remain close to) or negative nostalgia feelings (involving people they no longer remain close to), mimicking typical nostalgic feelings in daily life. Positive nostalgic feelings improved well-being compared with negative nostalgic feelings. Thus, nostalgia is not inherently positive or negative. Rather, the effect of nostalgia on well-being depends on its valence, which is influenced by the eliciting event. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Social Trauma, Nostalgia and Mourning in the Immigration Experience

Immigration and exile can qualify as social traumas. The individual is deprived of a holding, secure environment in which to continue their life. The process of mourning is a necessary step to connect with "going on being." Another psychic experience in migration is nostalgia; it helps the immigrant defend against the aggression resulting from current frustrations. The feeling of nostalgia can also be used to protect the ego from inadequacy. The complex components of nostalgia come from positive ones such as joy and gratitude connected with sadness about the associated loss of security, familiarity, and historical continuity. At other times, nostalgia cannot evolve, particularly in forced migration or exile. In this case, the individual enters a depressed state with accompanying feelings of self-pity, resentment, envy, and guilt, which prevents the mourning process from developing. To deal with these painful experiences, the person resorts to linking objects or linking phenomena that help them continue having contact with the past, while adjusting to their new environment.

Patterns of brain activity associated with nostalgia: a social-cognitive neuroscience perspective

Nostalgia arises from tender and yearnful reflection on meaningful life events or important persons from one's past. In the last two decades, the literature has documented a variety of ways in which nostalgia benefits psychological well-being. Only a handful of studies, however, have addressed the neural basis of the emotion. In this prospective review, we postulate a neural model of nostalgia. Self-reflection, autobiographical memory, regulatory capacity and reward are core components of the emotion. Thus, nostalgia involves brain activities implicated in self-reflection processing (medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus), autobiographical memory processing (hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus), emotion regulation processing (anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex) and reward processing (striatum, substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area and ventromedial prefrontal cortex). Nostalgia's potential to modulate activity in these core neural substrates has both theoretical and applied implications.

Degree of Meaningfulness of an Event's Ending Can Modulate Mixed Emotional Experiences Among Japanese Undergraduates

While people may experience mixed emotions when confronting a meaningful ending; it is unclear how much an ending's meaningfulness contributes to evoking these mixed emotions. This study examined, among Japanese undergraduate students, whether different degrees of meaningfulness of an ending affected emotional experiences, and how time passage changed emotional intensity. Sixty-one Japanese students (37 females, 24 males; M age = 20.75, SD = 0.80) reported their emotional experiences and the degree of meaningfulness they assigned to the ending of the Heisei era at two time points-before and after the ending. As expected, participants who placed high meaningfulness to the ending of the Heisei era experienced a high level of mixed emotions, indicating that the degree of meaningfulness given to an ending can modulate emotional experiences. Furthermore, the specific emotions experienced (i.e., sadness or happiness) differed depending on the assessment time point, such that the meaningfulness of the ending played a key role in producing mixed emotional experiences in this sample.

The Nostalgia of Pencils, Chalk, and Typewriters

Nostalgia is characterized by feelings of sentimentality and wistfulness. Once considered pathologic, nostalgia is now recognized as a normal and perhaps essential part of the human condition. Closely related to but distinct from nostalgia is a phenomenon known as "rosy retrospection." Rosy retrospection is a bias where individuals judge the past as being disproportionally superior to the present. Nostalgia plays a role in helping individuals and society gauge its progress and accomplishments. It also serves to offer comfort in difficult times. Individuals should be careful to understand the differences between nostalgia and rosy retrospection and make efforts to build nostalgic moments with colleagues and family members both inside and outside of the classroom.

Effect of nostalgia as a motivational force for depressed students to seek professional psychological help

In times of distress, people show a tendency to remember the 'good old days,' a bittersweet emotion called Nostalgia. This study explores how experimentally-induced nostalgia improves attitude toward counseling center and behavioral intentions to contact the counseling center on a college campus. Students living with depression (N = 148) were randomly assigned to view a public service announcement (PSA) for the campus counseling center that was designed with or without a nostalgia-inducing narrative and imagery. Participants exposed to the nostalgic PSA expressed significantly higher positive emotions compared to the control condition, after controlling for the effects of stigma, past counseling experience, levels of depression, and friends or family with mental illness. Mediation analyses showed that the higher positive emotions participants felt, the more positive was their attitude toward the campus counseling center, which in turn increased behavioral intention to seek help. The study suggests nostalgia-themed messages to promote help-seeking intentions among students experiencing depression.

New Technology Evokes Old Memories: Frequent Smartphone Use Increases Feeling of Nostalgia

In the era of technology, smartphone use occupies an important position in our lives. The present research focused on the psychological consequence of frequent smartphone use and possible way to remedy it. We proposed that frequent smartphone use could damage people's sense of control and in turn trigger nostalgia. Moreover, nostalgia could directly compensate for the low sense of control induced by frequent smartphone use. Five studies (N = 918) were conducted. Study 1 found through a field study that frequent smartphone use increases nostalgia. Studies 2 and 3 found through 14-day tracking and a laboratory experiment that frequent smartphone use decreased people's sense of control and then triggered nostalgia. Furthermore, nostalgia could enhance the low sense of control, and it worked by increasing self-esteem (Studies 4 and 5). The findings show the negative impact of frequent smartphone use, and nostalgia is an effective way to remedy it without preventing people from using smartphones.

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

In two experiments, we tested the influence of bringing to mind a memory of a special moment versus an ordinary moment on nostalgia and whether this elicited nostalgia was related directly to gratitude and the satisfaction of need for relatedness and indirectly to optimism and vitality. Participants from Mexico were first asked to state how the pandemic of COVID-19 has affected their lives. After, participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: Memory of special moment versus memory of ordinary recent moment (study 1) or memory of special moment versus or memory of ordinary moment from the same life period as the special moment (study 2). After, participants completed a battery of questionnaires assessing nostalgia, gratitude and optimism (study 1) or nostalgia, satisfaction of need for relatedness, and vitality (study 2). Results from study 1 showed a positive influence of bringing to mind a special moment on nostalgia. Nostalgia was positively related to gratitude, which was then related positively to optimism. Similarly, results from study 2 showed a positive influence of bringing to mind a special moment on nostalgia. Nostalgia was positively related to satisfaction of need for relatedness, which then had a positive relationship with vitality. In both studies, the indirect sequential effect of bringing to mind a special moment on optimism and vitality was significant.

Influence of the Belgian Coast on Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

There is increasing evidence that blue spaces, particularly coastal environments, are beneficial for well-being. During the first-wave lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium, access to the coast was restricted due to restraint in circulation. Making use of this unique opportunity, this study investigated whether access and visits to the coast were positively associated with well-being by using a quasi-experimental design. The emotions of awe and nostalgia were studied as potential mediators between coastal visits and well-being. A total of 687 Flemish adults took part in an online survey that was launched end of April until beginning of June 2020. After controlling for covariates, results showed that access to the coast, but not visit frequency, was positively associated with well-being. More specifically, coastal residents reported less boredom and worry, and more happiness than inland residents. Awe and nostalgia were not significantly associated with coastal visits, but awe was negatively correlated with boredom. The study suggests a potential buffer effect of residential proximity to the coast against negative psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting the notion that the coast has a positive impact on well-being.

Nostalgic conversations: The co-production of an intervention package for people living with dementia and their spouse

Objectives

Nostalgic memories are more social than other forms of autobiographical recall, often refer to atypical events, express more positive affect and reflect life as meaningful. Recalling a nostalgic (compared to ordinary) memory increases self-esteem, self-growth, meaning in life and social connectedness for people living with dementia. We set two objectives: to work with people living with dementia to develop an intervention based on nostalgia, and to assess whether couples could engage in nostalgic conversations.

Method

Our research fell into three phases. Initially, we consulted with people living with dementia and with carers to identify the parameters for a nostalgic intervention. From this, we drafted a workbook that contained triggers for nostalgic conversations, which we then took back to the public contributors for refinement. Finally, we trialled the workbook over 5 weeks with six couples, each of which included a person living with dementia. We assessed pre- and post-intervention self-esteem, self-growth, meaning in life and social connectedness for participants with dementia and social connectedness for carers. We then calculated Reliable Change Index scores and established levels of clinically significant change. We also interviewed couples at the end of the intervention to explore its implementation and acceptability.

Results

All six couples could identify nostalgic memories, with five couples successfully integrating the nostalgic conversations into their day-to-day lives. A sixth couple found it difficult to engage fully with the intervention, but still considered it useful. All six couples manifested a reliable change in at least one outcome, with one couple showing reliable change across three outcomes.

Conclusion

The psychological benefits of nostalgia have been robustly demonstrated in laboratory-based studies. This co-production of an intervention that sets nostalgic recall into the context of a conversation has clinical potential but requires further investigation through a larger study.

Understanding preferences for, and consumer behavior toward, cheese among a cohort of young, educated, internationally mobile Chinese consumers

This study explores the experiences of a cohort of young, educated, internationally mobile Chinese consumers with cheese and other dairy products, and how these experiences shape their behavior toward cheese products. In total, 41 Chinese students studying at an Irish university participated in 5 focus groups (n = 41, n = 7-10). Thematic analysis identified important factors that influence consumer behaviors regarding cheese products. Individuals' expectations toward cheese were embedded in their knowledge structures, which were constructed from previous experience. Participants had general positive expectations toward cheese due to associations with western-style foods and nostalgia; however, direct eating experience determined long-term behavior. When making a purchase decision, choice motives were weighed and negotiated to establish a fundamental driving factor for purchase. Perceived probability of choice motive fulfillment was important in determining purchase decisions, with many participants having low perceived ability to select cheese and limited motivation to engage with cheese due to limited perceived relevance of cheese to their daily food life. Individuals' innovativeness was an important factor that influences their openness to cheese products when moving beyond familiar foods. Opportunities exist such as using nostalgic cues as marketing tools to increase consumers' interest in cheese or combining cheese with Chinese food to increase perceived relevance of cheese to their daily food life. Providing information at point of purchase could reduce the disconnect between expectation and actual experience, and innovative cheese products may be developed to better fulfill important choice motives.

Internet Addiction and Nostalgia as Mediators

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a challenge for all confined populations, dealing with their home resources and suffering changes in their psychological well-being. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between home conditions (i.e., having children, square meters of the house and square meters of the terrace or similar) and psychological well-being, and to test whether this relationship is mediated by Internet addiction and nostalgia. The sample was composed of 1509 people, aged between 18 to 78 years (67.6% women). Structural Equations Models and 2 × 2 ANOVAs were analyzed. It was found that better home conditions mean greater psychological well-being, and that this relationship is partially mediated, in a negative sense, by Internet addiction and nostalgia, especially after day 45 of confinement and with greater intensity in women. These results provide evidence about how psychological well-being can be preserved during a confinement situation, which may be useful for planning healthy strategies in similar circumstances in the future.

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

In five studies (N = 1,074), we examined the relation-both correlational and causal-between nostalgia, a sentimental longing for one's past, and global self-continuity (GSC), a sense of connection among past, present, and future selves. Furthermore, we addressed mechanisms underlying this relation. We asked, in particular, whether nostalgic individuals might achieve GSC by constructing a narrative to give meaning to life transitions (narrative), connecting to the past (associative links), or believing in a self that is resistant to change (stability). Nostalgia predicted (Studies 1-3) and caused (Studies 4 and 5) GSC. The relation between nostalgia and GSC was consistently mediated by narrative, sporadically mediated by associative links, and unmediated by stability. The robust indirect effect via narrative remained significant when controlling for rumination (Study 3). We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

"Help! I Need Somebody": Music as a Global Resource for Obtaining Wellbeing Goals in Times of Crisis

Music can reduce stress and anxiety, enhance positive mood, and facilitate social bonding. However, little is known about the role of music and related personal or cultural (individualistic vs. collectivistic) variables in maintaining wellbeing during times of stress and social isolation as imposed by the COVID-19 crisis. In an online questionnaire, administered in 11 countries (Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the UK, and USA, N = 5,619), participants rated the relevance of wellbeing goals during the pandemic, and the effectiveness of different activities in obtaining these goals. Music was found to be the most effective activity for three out of five wellbeing goals: enjoyment, venting negative emotions, and self-connection. For diversion, music was equally good as entertainment, while it was second best to create a sense of togetherness, after socialization. This result was evident across different countries and gender, with minor effects of age on specific goals, and a clear effect of the importance of music in people's lives. Cultural effects were generally small and surfaced mainly in the use of music to obtain a sense of togetherness. Interestingly, culture moderated the use of negatively valenced and nostalgic music for those higher in distress.

Music-Evoked Nostalgia and Wellbeing During the United Kingdom COVID-19 Pandemic: Content, Subjective Effects, and Function

Nostalgic music is defined as that which evokes feelings of nostalgia through reminders of certain periods of life, places or people. Feelings of nostalgia are said to occur during times of hardship and difficult transitionary periods, such as the first COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom in 2020. Here, the reassurance of the past might have held certainty that could sustain a sense of meaning and purpose in life and influence wellbeing. The aims of the presented study were to explore the nature of music-induced nostalgia during the lockdown, by analysing participants' narratives conjured by the music and their emotional responses to them, and to determinethe extent that using nostalgic music listening as an emotion regulation strategy had an impact on wellbeing. Data was collected by means of an online questionnaire, which retrospectively investigated nostalgic music during the lockdown. Participants listened to a self-selected piece of music that they had listened to 3 months prior whichinduced feelings of nostalgia, reported their resulting emotion and the content of memories associated with their nostalgia, and completed a questionnaire rating their experienced effect of nostalgia in relation to their piece of music. Following this, we investigated the functions that nostalgic music tends to have in regulating emotions through means of a pre-validated scale. 570 participants (34% identified as male) were recruited (age years M = 44, SD = 16). Concurrent with existing research, the findings suggest that there are significant differences in the affective and narrative content of nostalgicmusic listening in relation to which emotion regulation strategy was used, and that employing nostalgic music listening as a form of approaching difficult emotions can have a positive impact on wellbeing.

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

Does nostalgia for one's time at university predict current intentions to engage with the university? In Study 1, United States participants' nostalgia for their university experience (university nostalgia) at a southern public university predicted stronger intentions to socialize with fellow alumni, attend a future reunion, volunteer for their university, and donate money to their university. Study 2 replicated these findings with alumni from a northeastern private university, and extended them by finding that the links between university nostalgia and university engagement emerged even when controlling for the positivity of university experience. In both studies, feelings of university belonging mediated most of the associations between university nostalgia and university engagement. In Study 2, the positivity of the university experience moderated the relation between university nostalgia and two indices of university engagement. Specifically, university nostalgia was more strongly associated with intentions to attend a reunion and donate money among those who had a relatively negative university experience. Nostalgia for one's university past predicts future engagement with the university as well as its members.

Nostalgia and Heroism: Theoretical Convergence of Memory, Motivation, and Function

This article seeks to develop theoretical convergences between the science of nostalgia and the science of heroism. We take four approaches in forging a conceptual relationship between these two phenomena. First, we examine the definitions of nostalgia and heroism from scholars, laypeople, and across cultures, noting how the history of defining the two phenomena has shaped current conceptualizations. Second, we demonstrate how nostalgic experiences consist of reminiscences about our own personal heroism and about cultural role models and heroes. A review of heroism research, moreover, shows also that our recall of our heroes and of heroism is tinged with nostalgia. Third, we make linkages between heroism and nostalgia research focusing on functions, inspiration, sociality, and motivation. Nostalgia researchers have illuminated the functions of nostalgia implicating the self, existential concerns, goal pursuit, and sociality. Our review shows that heroism researchers invoke similar categories of hero functionality. Finally, we propose three areas of future research that can profit from the merging of nostalgia and heroism science, involving the mechanisms by which (a) heroism can fuel nostalgia, (b) nostalgia can promote heroic action, and (c) wisdom results from nostalgic reverie.

Self-Imposed Exile, Marginality, and Homosexuality in the Novels of Abdellah Taïa, Rachid O., and Eyet-Chékib Djaziri

A burgeoning canon of Maghrebian writers in self-imposed exiled in France has in the last decade begun to openly broach the subject of homosexuality in Arab-Muslim communities of the Maghreb. Novels of writers like Abdellah Taïa, Rachid O. and Eyet-Chékib Djaziri reflect a fascinating trans-Mediterranean construction of homosexual identity. Drawing on Svetlana Boym's critical work, particularly her observation that nostalgia "charts an affective geography of the native land that often mirrors the melancholic landscapes" of the exiled, this paper analyzes the construction of homosexuality against the notions of exile, nostalgia, and marginality. The novels of these Maghrebian writers highlight nostalgia as both cathartic and paralyzing for "gay" migrant protagonists who find themselves trapped in the subtle seam between a cherished Maghreb that is framed as homophobic in the sexual clash of civilizations and a more liberal yet inauspicious France. The nostalgic contemplation of the constitution of a homosexual subjectivity is read as a critical performance and mainstreaming of hitherto marginalized voices that now subvert and fight back against normalizing discourses of ethnicity, sexual and gender identity as well as nationality.

Attenuating Pain With the Past: Nostalgia Reduces Physical Pain

Previous work has found that nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, is associated with psychological, emotional, and social benefits. Recent research has demonstrated that nostalgic reflection also can improve individuals’ physical health (i.e., exercise) and reduce temperature-related pain. Building on this, two experiments examined how nostalgia can reduce people’s pain perceptions (i.e., reduced severity and increased tolerance). Specifically, Study 1 showed that inducing nostalgia through a writing task decreased perceived pain severity (i.e., intensity) among self-reported chronic pain sufferers. Study 2, in turn, demonstrated that Japanese individuals experienced increased pain tolerance (i.e., the maximum level of pain a person can tolerate) for a pressure algometer task following thoughts of nostalgia (vs. a control prime). This work provides evidence that nostalgic reflection may serve as a psychological resource to reduce the perceived severity of physical pain.

Eye of the Beholder: Memory Recall Perspective Impacts Nostalgia's Influence on Positive Affect

Recalling memories for which one is nostalgic provides a host of psychological benefits, including promoting positive affect. The present research (N = 409) examined how memory recall perspective impacts this affective consequence of waxing nostalgic. Memory recall perspective research indicates that people show stronger affective engagement with memories recalled from a first person perspective (seeing the event through one’s own eyes, as one experienced it) rather than a third person perspective (seeing the event as an outside observer may have). Results indicated that when participants recalled memories from a first person perspective, those who recalled an event for which they felt nostalgic reported higher positive affect compared to their counterparts who recalled an ordinary past event. However, when participants recalled memories from a third person perspective, those who recalled an event for which they felt nostalgic reported levels of positive affect that did not differ from participants who recalled an ordinary past event. This finding suggests that, when comparing nostalgic reverie to recalling an ordinary past event, the extent to which nostalgia serves as a well-spring of positive affect is partially impacted by memory recall perspective.

Miner Artist/Minor Artist? Class, Politics, and the Post-industrial Consumption of Mining Art

This article uses the recently discovered art work of a County Durham coal miner, Jimmy Kays (1886-1951) to highlight the terms in which coal mining art has achieved popularity and value in the post-mining period. Kays' work is considered with reference to the presenting narrative that promotes and markets mining art not only in terms of its intrinsic artistic quality, but also as a desirable commodity which, as a legacy of the mining past, can contribute to the revival of post-mining places. Maximizing the value that can accrue from mining art in post-industrial conditions involves appealing to the interest of the largest possible audience. The consequence of this is the dominance of a particular interpretation of the mining past. The art of Jimmy Kays does not conform to the conditions of the market, and cannot achieve a similar status. Despite its artistic qualities and its uniqueness as the product of a Durham working miner in the early twentieth century, it sits outside the dominant lexicon of coal mining art. The outsider status of Jimmy Kays is an example of a wider set of issues relating to the invisibility of working class creativity and the difficulties of achieving excellence or public acknowledgment in conditions that lack organizational support and in which value is established elsewhere. I argue that an understanding of the invisibility of art work such as that produced by Kays illuminates the exercise of class-based power in terms of the production, consumption, and range of meaning inscribed within popular mining art. Mining art that has been allocated value is in danger of being appropriated in ways that pacify rather than energize audiences, by foregrounding particular aspects of the mining past for purposes of consumption whilst submerging the issues that link more troubled aspects of the past with the present.

The Negative Interactive Effects of Nostalgia and Loneliness on Affect in Daily Life

Research has suggested that nostalgia is a mixed, albeit predominantly positive emotion. One proposed function of nostalgia is to attenuate the negative consequences of loneliness. This restorative effect of nostalgia, however, has been demonstrated with cross sectional and experimental methods that lack ecological validity. In studies that have measured nostalgia in daily life, however, nostalgia has been negatively related to well-being. We propose an alternative theory that posits that the effect of nostalgia on well-being depends on the event or experience that elicits nostalgia. We tested this theory by measuring daily states of nostalgia, loneliness, and affect across five daily diary studies (N = 504; 6,004 daily reports) that lasted for 14 days. Using multilevel modeling, we found that nostalgia and loneliness were negatively related to positive affect and positively related to negative affect. The negative effects of nostalgia on affective well-being were significantly stronger on days when people felt more lonely as opposed to less lonely. Viewed alternatively, the negative effects of loneliness on affective well-being were stronger on days when people felt more vs. less nostalgic. Thus, in contrast to experimental findings, nostalgia did not attenuate, but rather exaggerated the negative effects of loneliness on affective well-being. These findings support a theoretical account that proposes that the effect of nostalgia on well-being depends on the natural context in which nostalgia is elicited.

Longing for the Past and Longing for the Future: A Phenomenological Assessment of the Relation Between Temporal Focus and Readiness to Change Among People Living With Addiction

At present, the dominant motivational strategy to facilitate behavior change among those living with addiction is to focus one’s attention on the better possible future that may result from cutting down or cessation. However, research is now emerging that suggests nostalgic reverie (i.e., sentimental longing) for life lived before addiction can also motivate behavior change. In the current research, we explore the conditions in which longing for a better future free of addiction and longing for one’s past that was free of addition might motivate change. To this end, we assessed first-person experiential narratives of problem gamblers to better understand how they feel about their past or future without gambling, and how those feelings may relate to motivation to change. Problem gamblers were randomly assigned to either write about their lived past before gambling (n = 31) or their expected future without gambling (n = 26). Each narrative was systematically examined to identify recurrent themes and cluster these narratives according to similarly expressed themes. In the past condition, participants reported their life before gambling was either positive (Cluster P1) or difficult (Cluster P2). Gamblers with a positive past described how their life, character, close relationships, and the activities they engaged in before gambling were more meaningful. Importantly, these gamblers also reported feeling more nostalgic for life without gambling and were more ready to change their behavior than gamblers with a difficult past. In the future condition, participants were either positive (Cluster F1) or ambivalent (Cluster F2) about a future free from gambling. Gamblers who expected a positive future described how they expect their emotions, finances, and the activities they will engage in to be more positive without gambling. Compared to those ambivalent about their future, these gamblers also reported a future without addiction to be more vivid and had more desire to change their behavior, but there were no between-cluster differences in readiness to change. These findings demonstrate unique differences in how gamblers perceive their past and future without gambling, and shed a novel light on how each temporal focus might motivate behavior change among those living with addiction.

Designing Nostalgic Tangible User Interface Application for Elderly People

Our elderly population faces challenges in accepting and using new digital technology, and tangible user interface (TUI) can contribute as a more intuitive user interface in addressing these challenges. Studies have shown that nostalgic memories trigger positive emotions, which can provide better experiences for elderly people in learning and using new technology. However, the use of nostalgia in TUI for elderly people has been little and therefore the understanding on how nostalgia can contribute in TUI promoting technology acceptance among elderly people is limited. In order to address this knowledge gap, in this study we have created a nostalgic TUI application for elderly people through three iterations of design, development and evaluation. The results show that by adopting the element of nostalgia into the TUI application, elderly people could learn to use new technology in a more intuitive way. They could relate the new technology to their old positive memories. However, they had expectations that the TUI application would work exactly like the old fashioned way. Through the research process, we gathered and reflected on the lessons learned, which can serve as guidelines for using the concept of nostalgia in designing TUI application for elderly people’s technology acceptance.

The effects of nostalgia cues in sexual health advertising

An experimental design was conducted to investigate message effectiveness between reminiscence-bump format (RBF)/nostalgia message formats with traditional message formats in the context of health communication ads about sexual health. Reminiscence bumps, defined as a point in one's life where people can recall their life events, are proposed as a means for improving nostalgic advertising message effectiveness measure in the research. The dependent variables were emotional response, response efficacy (i.e. intent to adopt the behavior), attitude toward the message, and attitude toward the ad. Boomer-aged women completed an online survey. The research found evidence in support of the idea that nostalgic cues in health communication ads improved emotional response to the advertisement, which, in turn, improved their interest to act on health message recommendations.

Reflecting on nostalgic, positive, and novel experiences increases state Openness

OBJECTIVE

Personality change is a growing field of interest, but relatively few studies have examined causes of change in Openness. We investigated whether it is possible to influence state Openness, and through what mechanisms this effect may occur.

METHOD

In two experiments (Study 1: N = 144, M_age  = 36.4, 58% female, 88% White; Study 2: N = 269, M_age  = 34.0, 60% female, 91% White), participants reflected on and wrote about a personal experience requested to be either: nostalgic; positive and novel (Study 1); positive or novel (Study 2); or ordinary. They rated the events for nostalgia, positivity, novelty, and sociality, and completed measures of state positive affect, self-esteem, social connectedness, meaning in life, and state Openness.

RESULTS

Participants who recalled positive and/or novel events reported greater state Openness than those who recalled ordinary events. In Study 1, this also applied to those recalling nostalgic events. Event ratings of positivity (both studies), nostalgia and novelty (Study 2) independently predicted state Openness. State positive affect and self-esteem were independent predictors in both studies, suggesting possible indirect paths.

CONCLUSIONS

Reflecting on nostalgic, positive, and novel experiences can increase state Openness. This finding may be useful for interventions targeting trait-level change.