Does neuroticism disrupt the psychological benefits of nostalgia? a meta-analytic test

Abstract

Nostalgia, a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, confers self-oriented, existential, and social benefits. We examined whether nostalgic engagement is less beneficial for individuals who are high in neuroticism (i.e. emotionally unstable and prone to negative affect). Specifically, we tested whether the benefits of experimentally induced nostalgia are moderated by trait-level neuroticism. To address this issue, we conducted a high-powered individual participant data meta-analysis (N = 3556, k = 19). We found that the benefits of nostalgia were not significantly moderated by neuroticism, as they emerged for both high and low neurotics. This finding upheld when the self-oriented, existential, and social benefits of nostalgia were analysed jointly and when they were analysed separately. Taken together, individuals high and low in neuroticism are equally likely to benefit psychologically from engagement in nostalgic reverie.

The Ties That Bind: University Nostalgia Fosters Relational and Collective University Engagement

“…An individual difference approach has found that nostalgia’s benefits typically extend widely. For example, a recent well-powered meta-analysis revealed that neuroticism does not moderate the benefits of induced nostalgia ( Frankenbach et al, 2020 ). We addressed this issue by asking whether people who report a negative past university experience can derive benefits from university nostalgia.…”

The effect of a multi-week nostalgia intervention on well-being: Mechanisms and moderation.

“…Overall, participants in the nostalgia and control conditions reported similar levels of average NA, but discrete emotion analyses revealed that those in the nostalgia conditions reported lower NA than controls on some emotions (i.e., bored, irritable, sluggish, tired), higher on others (i.e., homesick, regretful), and equivalent on most (see also Newman et al, 2020). However, in the subset of experiments that induced nostalgia with the Event Reflection Task (Sedikides, Wildschut, Routledge, Arndt, Hepper, & Zhou, 2015)—the task we implemented in the current study—participants in nostalgia conditions reported higher sadness than controls (as well as higher happiness; see also Frankenbach et al, 2021). Thus, nostalgia’s effect on NA may depend on the type of nostalgic activity, as well as the specific negative emotions in question, whereas nostalgia’s effect on PA is more general.…”

The Restorative Power of Nostalgia: Thwarting Loneliness by Raising Happiness During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Finally, we examined the impact of experimentally induced nostalgia on positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Nostalgia typically increases PA but not necessarily NA (Leunissen et al, 2021; but see Frankenbach et al, 2020). However, no work has examined the influence of nostalgia on PA (and NA) over a 2-day period.…”