The psychological benefits of music-evoked nostalgia
The psychological benefits of music-evoked nostalgia
We provide a narrative review of the nascent literature on the psychological benefits of music-evoked nostalgia. Music is a prevalent and influential source of nostalgia. Music-evoked nostalgia confers approach-oriented psychological benefits in the social domain (by fostering social connectedness), self-oriented domain (by raising self-esteem, instilling a sense of youthfulness, elevating optimism, and enhancing inspiration), and existential domain (by strengthening meaning in life and augmenting self-continuity). Music-evoked nostalgia also confers psychological benefits indirectly. For example, it elevates optimisms by fostering sequentially social connectedness and self-esteem. Also, by fostering social connectedness, it enhances inspiration, strengthens meaning in life, and augments self-continuity. Furthermore, music-evoked nostalgia serves to buffer individuals against discomforting states, such as sadness. We conclude by discussing music-evoked nostalgia in people with dementia, contemplating the role of individual differences and context, considering the possibility that music-evoked nostalgia serves physiological functions, and asking whether familiarity with the music is necessary for the evocation of nostalgia and its ensuing benefits.
dementia, emotions, music, music-evoked nostalgia, nostalgia
Sedikides, Constantine
9d45e66d-75bb-44de-87d7-21fd553812c2
Leunissen, Joost
40d990a4-b735-423d-9d0f-47c6c1b20b2c
Wildschut, Tim
4452a61d-1649-4c4a-bb1d-154ec446ff81
Sedikides, Constantine
9d45e66d-75bb-44de-87d7-21fd553812c2
Leunissen, Joost
40d990a4-b735-423d-9d0f-47c6c1b20b2c
Wildschut, Tim
4452a61d-1649-4c4a-bb1d-154ec446ff81
Sedikides, Constantine, Leunissen, Joost and Wildschut, Tim
(2021)
The psychological benefits of music-evoked nostalgia.
Psychology of Music.
(doi:10.1177/03057356211064641).
Abstract
We provide a narrative review of the nascent literature on the psychological benefits of music-evoked nostalgia. Music is a prevalent and influential source of nostalgia. Music-evoked nostalgia confers approach-oriented psychological benefits in the social domain (by fostering social connectedness), self-oriented domain (by raising self-esteem, instilling a sense of youthfulness, elevating optimism, and enhancing inspiration), and existential domain (by strengthening meaning in life and augmenting self-continuity). Music-evoked nostalgia also confers psychological benefits indirectly. For example, it elevates optimisms by fostering sequentially social connectedness and self-esteem. Also, by fostering social connectedness, it enhances inspiration, strengthens meaning in life, and augments self-continuity. Furthermore, music-evoked nostalgia serves to buffer individuals against discomforting states, such as sadness. We conclude by discussing music-evoked nostalgia in people with dementia, contemplating the role of individual differences and context, considering the possibility that music-evoked nostalgia serves physiological functions, and asking whether familiarity with the music is necessary for the evocation of nostalgia and its ensuing benefits.
Text
Sedikides et al., 2021, Psychology of Music
- Accepted Manuscript
Text
03057356211064641
- Version of Record
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Accepted/In Press date: 21 October 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 29 December 2021
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Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
Keywords:
dementia, emotions, music, music-evoked nostalgia, nostalgia
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Local EPrints ID: 470838
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/470838
PURE UUID: 03708940-1a89-4fc1-b576-b83e65e5ef08
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Date deposited: 20 Oct 2022 16:37
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:53
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Author:
Joost Leunissen
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