From self-discontinuity to meaning through nostalgia
From self-discontinuity to meaning through nostalgia
In his pioneering book Yearning for Yesterday: A Sociology of nostalgia, Fred Davis (1979) suggested that nostalgia serves to temporally connect disjointed self-aspects: “Nostalgia helps the individual construct continuity of identity by encouraging an appreciative stance toward former selves; excluding unpleasant memories; reinterpreting ‘marginal, fugitive, and eccentric facets of earlier selves’ in a positive light; and establishing benchmarks in one’s biography” (pp. 35–36). The prescient sociologist also suggested, that, when these temporally disjointed self-aspects become salient or accessible, the individual experiences “fears, discontents, anxieties, or uncertainties” (p. 34). In that case, nostalgia comes to the rescue by restoring the temporal bond among self-aspects: “it is these emotions and cognitive states that pose the threat of identity discontinuity ... that nostalgia seeks, by marshalling our psychological resources for continuity, to abort or, at the very least, deflect” (pp. 34–35). Davis, then, seemed to opine that self-discontinuity triggers nostalgia, which in turn increases self-continuity. We will elaborate on this idea, adding that self-continuity subsequently raises meaning in life (henceforth: meaning). We will envelop our proposal within a conceptual framework, the regulatory model of nostalgia.
Sedikides, Constantine
9d45e66d-75bb-44de-87d7-21fd553812c2
Wildschut, Tim
4452a61d-1649-4c4a-bb1d-154ec446ff81
Sedikides, Constantine
9d45e66d-75bb-44de-87d7-21fd553812c2
Wildschut, Tim
4452a61d-1649-4c4a-bb1d-154ec446ff81
Sedikides, Constantine and Wildschut, Tim
(2024)
From self-discontinuity to meaning through nostalgia.
In,
Fujita, Kentaro, Fishbach, Ayelet and Liberman, Nira
(eds.)
The Psychological Quest for Meaning.
New York City.
Guilford Press.
(In Press)
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Book Section
Abstract
In his pioneering book Yearning for Yesterday: A Sociology of nostalgia, Fred Davis (1979) suggested that nostalgia serves to temporally connect disjointed self-aspects: “Nostalgia helps the individual construct continuity of identity by encouraging an appreciative stance toward former selves; excluding unpleasant memories; reinterpreting ‘marginal, fugitive, and eccentric facets of earlier selves’ in a positive light; and establishing benchmarks in one’s biography” (pp. 35–36). The prescient sociologist also suggested, that, when these temporally disjointed self-aspects become salient or accessible, the individual experiences “fears, discontents, anxieties, or uncertainties” (p. 34). In that case, nostalgia comes to the rescue by restoring the temporal bond among self-aspects: “it is these emotions and cognitive states that pose the threat of identity discontinuity ... that nostalgia seeks, by marshalling our psychological resources for continuity, to abort or, at the very least, deflect” (pp. 34–35). Davis, then, seemed to opine that self-discontinuity triggers nostalgia, which in turn increases self-continuity. We will elaborate on this idea, adding that self-continuity subsequently raises meaning in life (henceforth: meaning). We will envelop our proposal within a conceptual framework, the regulatory model of nostalgia.
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Sedikides & Wildschut, in press
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Accepted/In Press date: 2 June 2024
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Local EPrints ID: 492086
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/492086
PURE UUID: 37f8822e-561d-4f82-8119-49d126d0792a
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Date deposited: 16 Jul 2024 16:48
Last modified: 17 Jul 2024 01:37
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Contributors
Editor:
Kentaro Fujita
Editor:
Ayelet Fishbach
Editor:
Nira Liberman
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