From nostalgia through social connectedness to self-continuity: Replication and extension

Abstract

Prior research, relyingmostly on samples from the UK and the US, has indicated that nostalgia serves as a source of self-continuity (a sense that one's past is interwoven with one's present), and it does so by increasing social connectedness (a sense of belongingness and acceptance). The present research aimed to conceptually replicate and extend these findings in two experiments. Indeed, the study findings replicated those of previous research in another culture (Greece; Experiment 1), with a different control group (Experiment 1), and using an alternative nostalgia manipulation (a prototype-based technique; Experiment 2). The reported experiments established that nostalgia increases self-continuity by fostering social connectedness. © 2019 Psychological Society of Northern Greece.