Juxtaposing nostalgia and declinism: divergent associations with social connectedness and responses to innovative technology

Abstract

Nostalgia and declinism are often intertwined in the literature. We argue that they share a common reference to the past but differ in their psychological and social implications. Nostalgia entails a personal, meaningful connection to one’s past and contributes to a positive present or optimistic future outlook. Declinism, by contrast, idealizes a societal past and contributes to a negative perception of the present and a pessimistic view of the future. Across five preregistered studies—four cross-sectional and one experimental (ΣN = 2,300)—we empirically distinguished these constructs. Nostalgia positively, whereas declinism negatively, predicted social connectedness (Studies 1–3) and favorable responses to innovative technology such as artificial intelligence and ChatGPT (Studies 2–3). We observed these patterns when assessing nostalgia with the Southampton Nostalgia Scale and the Nostalgia Inventory, whereas no such patterns emerged with the Personal Inventory of Nostalgic Experiences—a scale that instead exhibited a high correlation with declinism (Study 4). Finally, experimentally induced nostalgia increased support for AI research compared to induced declinism (Study 5). The findings clarify theoretical distinctions between nostalgia and declinism, and offer novel insights into their broader psychological and societal consequences.

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ORCID for Constantine Sedikides: orcid.org/0000-0003-4036-889X

ORCID for Tim Wildschut: orcid.org/0000-0002-6499-5487

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