Nostalgia: past, present, and future

Abstract

Traditionally, nostalgia has been conceptualized as a medical disease and a psychiatric disorder. Instead, we argue that nostalgia is a predominantly positive, self-relevant, and social emotion serving key psychological functions. Nostalgic narratives reflect more positive than negative affect, feature the self as the protagonist, and are embedded in a social context. Nostalgia is triggered by dysphoric states such as negative mood and loneliness. Finally, nostalgia generates positive affect, increases self-esteem, fosters social connectedness, and alleviates existential threat.

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Identifiers

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

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

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