Adverse weather evokes nostalgia

Van Tilburg, Wijnand, Sedikides, Constantine and Wildschut, Tim (2018) Adverse weather evokes nostalgia. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. (doi:10.1177/0146167218756030).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Four studies examined the link between adverse weather and the palliative role of nostalgia. We proposed and tested that: adverse weather evokes nostalgia (H1), adverse weather causes distress, which predicts elevated nostalgia (H2), preventing nostalgia exacerbates weather-induced distress (H3), and weather-evoked nostalgia confers psychological benefits (H4). In Study 1, participants listened to recordings of wind, thunder, rain, and neutral sounds. Adverse weather evoked nostalgia. In Study 2, participants kept a 10-day diary recording weather conditions, distress, and nostalgia. We also obtained meteorological data. Adverse weather perceptions were positively correlated with distress, which predicted higher nostalgia. Also, adverse natural weather was associated with corresponding weather perceptions, which predicted elevated nostalgia. (Results were mixed for rain.) In Study 3, preventing nostalgia (via cognitive load) increased weather-evoked distress. In Study 4, weather-evoked nostalgia was positively associated with psychological benefits. The findings pioneer the relevance of nostalgia as source of comfort in adverse weather.

Text

Van Tilburg, Sedikides, Wildschut - PSPB - Final accept - Accepted Manuscript

Available under License University of Southampton Accepted Manuscript Licence.

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