Different Pasts for Different Political Folk: Political Orientation Predicts Collective Nostalgia Content

Abstract

Collective nostalgia is a bittersweet emotion that reflects sentimental longing for valued aspects of the past of one’s group. Given that conservatism is typically associated with a general desire to preserve the societal status quo or return society to its traditional way of being, nostalgia has been theorized to be characteristic of those on the political right (i.e., conservatives). In the current work, we proposed and tested the hypothesis that collective nostalgia is experienced by both conservatives and liberals, but the content of their nostalgizing differs. Across three studies in three socio-political contexts—United States (Study 1, MTurk, N = 352), Canada (Study 2, student sample, N = 154), and England (Study 3, online panel, N = 2,345)—we found that both conservatives and liberals experienced collective nostalgia for a more homogenous and open society. However, conservatives experienced more homogeneity-focused collective nostalgia, whereas liberals experienced more openness-focused collective nostalgia. Replicating previous findings, homogeneity-focused nostalgia emerged as a positive, whereas openness-focused nostalgia emerged as a negative, predictor of intergroup attitudes. The results have both theoretical and practical significance for understanding political attitudes and behaviors. To the point, variance in the conservative and liberal political agendas is, in part, a function of a difference in their respective predisposition to nostalgize about and thus desire the return of a particular aspect of the in-group’s past.

Nostalgia Causes a Preference for Regressive Social Change

“…Nevertheless, other research demonstrates that feelings of nostalgia, when used strategically, can increase agreement across party lines on divisive political issues such as gun control, inequality, and climatechange (Baldwin & Lammers, 2016;Lammers & Baldwin, 2018). Understanding the role of nostalgia for the self and society, and whether it will harm or help social progress, requires moving toward a more comprehensive approach to the phenomenon (see Stefaniak, Wohl, Sedikides, Smeekes, & Wildschut, 2021 for work along these lines).…”

Those Were the What? Nostalgia’s Effect on Radical Right Support Depends on Nostalgia’s Content

“…Depending on what specifically one feels group-based nostalgia for, this affects political orientation differently. To illustrate, while radical right support following nostalgia for society's homogeneity (Stefaniak et al, 2021) or grandiosity (Marchlewska et al, 2018) is intuitive, it seems less straightforward as a consequence of nostalgia for society's preindustrial environment.…”

Research on the Driving Factors of Collective Nostalgia and the Impact of Collective Nostalgia on National Brand Consciousness

“…Nostalgia is a universal emotion, which expresses the emotional needs of individuals who want to go back to the past [ 16 ]. In the past, nostalgia was often considered negative, as it was characterized by a sense of loss and depression.…”

“…Wohl et al [ 24 ] test the impact of collective nostalgia on the relationship of groups, and the results show that the collective nostalgia of group members effectively predicted the prejudice of external groups and anti-immigrant sentiment. Stefaniak et al [ 16 ] explore the collective nostalgia of political figures in the United States, Canada and Britain, and found that conservatives experience more collective nostalgia centered on homogeneity, which is mostly manifested in positive inter-group attitudes, while liberals experience more collective nostalgia centered on openness, which is mostly manifested in negative inter-group attitudes.…”