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Review
. 2023 Feb:49:101545.
doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101545. Epub 2022 Dec 20.

Nostalgia: An impactful social emotion

Jacob Juhl  1 , Marios Biskas  2
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Nostalgia: An impactful social emotion

Jacob Juhl et al. Curr Opin Psychol. 2023 Feb.
Free article

Abstract

Nostalgia (a sentimental longing for one's past) is a highly social emotion. We provide an evidence-based argument that nostalgia's sociality is one of its most defining and impactful characteristics. First, we review evidence that has established the highly social content of nostalgic reflection. Second, we summarize research that has demonstrated nostalgia's capacity to provide a sense of connectedness with others, and that this social connectedness, in turn, conveys intrapersonal psychological benefits (i.e., meaning in life, self-continuity, optimism, inspiration). Third, we outline research that has documented the interpersonal consequences of nostalgia (e.g., greater physical closeness, strengthened relational goals, increased help seeking, intensified empathy, elevated prosocial behavior). Finally, we call for applied research to investigate how the social character of nostalgia can be harnessed to improve people's social lives.

Keywords: Empathy; Help seeking; Interpersonal goals; Nostalgia; Prosocial behavior; Romantic nostalgia; Social connectedness.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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