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

The power of the past: nostalgia as a meaning-making resource
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
0965-8211
452-460
Routledge, Clay
c1e0088a-3cc4-4d54-bbd3-de7d286429d8
Wildschut, Tim
4452a61d-1649-4c4a-bb1d-154ec446ff81
Sedikides, Constantine
9d45e66d-75bb-44de-87d7-21fd553812c2
Juhl, Jacob
1c3b38b1-ba9e-4f3c-8520-ebca3b712fa2
Arndt, Jamie
9f74041c-58f9-43b5-96f1-19dda49b7d87
Routledge, Clay
c1e0088a-3cc4-4d54-bbd3-de7d286429d8
Wildschut, Tim
4452a61d-1649-4c4a-bb1d-154ec446ff81
Sedikides, Constantine
9d45e66d-75bb-44de-87d7-21fd553812c2
Juhl, Jacob
1c3b38b1-ba9e-4f3c-8520-ebca3b712fa2
Arndt, Jamie
9f74041c-58f9-43b5-96f1-19dda49b7d87

Routledge, Clay, Wildschut, Tim, Sedikides, Constantine, Juhl, Jacob and Arndt, Jamie (2012) The power of the past: nostalgia as a meaning-making resource. Memory, 20 (5), 452-460. (doi:10.1080/09658211.2012.677452). (PMID:22639901)

Record type: Article

Abstract

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

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Routledge,_Wildschut,_Sedikides,_Juhl,_&_Arndt,_2012_Memory.eprints.docx - Accepted Manuscript
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e-pub ahead of print date: 28 May 2012
Published date: 2012
Organisations: Psychology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 341658
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/341658
ISSN: 0965-8211
PURE UUID: 5ae06360-6e58-4bc3-944f-45192f41a9e9
ORCID for Tim Wildschut: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6499-5487
ORCID for Constantine Sedikides: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4036-889X

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Date deposited: 01 Aug 2012 13:57
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:10

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Contributors

Author: Clay Routledge
Author: Tim Wildschut ORCID iD
Author: Jacob Juhl
Author: Jamie Arndt

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