The Past Makes the Present Meaningful: Nostalgia as an Existential Resource

The present research tested the proposition that nostalgia serves an existential function by bolstering a sense of meaning in life. Study 1found that nostalgia was positively associated with a sense of meaning in life. Study 2 experimentally demonstrated that nostalgia increases a sense of meaning i...

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Veröffentlicht in:Journal of personality and social psychology 2011-09, Vol.101 (3), p.638-652
Hauptverfasser: Routledge, Clay, Arndt, Jamie, Wildschut, Tim, Sedikides, Constantine, Hart, Claire M, Juhl, Jacob, Vingerhoets, Ad J. J. M, Schlotz, Wolff
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:The present research tested the proposition that nostalgia serves an existential function by bolstering a sense of meaning in life. Study 1found that nostalgia was positively associated with a sense of meaning in life. Study 2 experimentally demonstrated that nostalgia increases a sense of meaning in life. In both studies, the link between nostalgia and increased meaning in life was mediated by feelings of social connectedness. Study 3 evidenced that threatened meaning increases nostalgia. Study 4 illustrated that nostalgia, in turn, reduces defensiveness following a meaning threat. Finally, Studies 5 and 6 showed that nostalgia disrupts the link between meaning deficits and compromised psychological well-being. Collectively, these findings indicate that the provision of existential meaning is a pivotal function of nostalgia.
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/a0024292