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Nostalgia strengthens global self-continuity through holistic thinking.

Emily K Hong1, Constantine Sedikides1, Tim Wildschut1

  • 1School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.

Cognition & Emotion
|December 28, 2020
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Nostalgia enhances global self-continuity (GSC) by fostering interactional causality, a cognitive mechanism linking past, present, and future selves. This research reveals how sentimental longing for the past shapes our sense of self over time.

Keywords:
Nostalgiaglobal self-continuityholistic thinkinginteractional causality

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for one's meaningful past, is recognized for its role in psychological well-being.
  • Global self-continuity (GSC) refers to the perceived connection across different temporal aspects of the self.
  • Previous research suggests nostalgia positively influences GSC, but the underlying cognitive mechanisms remain underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and investigate the cognitive mechanism through which nostalgia promotes global self-continuity (GSC).
  • To examine the role of holistic thinking, specifically interactional causality, in the relationship between nostalgia and GSC.
  • To establish a causal link between nostalgia, interactional causality, and GSC.

Main Methods:

  • Three studies were conducted employing measurement-of-mediation and experimental-causal-chain designs.
  • Study 1 used a cross-sectional approach to assess trait nostalgia, interactional causality, and GSC.
  • Studies 2 and 3 experimentally manipulated nostalgia and interactional causal thinking, respectively, to examine their effects on GSC.

Main Results:

  • Nostalgia was found to be positively associated with GSC through the mediating role of interactional causality.
  • Experimental induction of nostalgia led to increased interactional causality, which in turn enhanced GSC.
  • Directly manipulating interactional causal thinking also resulted in increased GSC, supporting its role as a mechanism.

Conclusions:

  • Interactional causality serves as a key cognitive mechanism explaining how nostalgia enhances global self-continuity.
  • Nostalgia's positive impact on the sense of self across time is mediated by a cognitive style that recognizes the interplay of multiple causes.
  • These findings contribute to understanding the psychological functions of nostalgia and its influence on self-perception.