Romantic nostalgia as a resource for healthy relationships

Nicholas  D. Evans; Jacob Juhl; ERICA HEPPER; Tim Wildschut; Constantine Sedikides; Adam K. Fetterman

doi:10.1177/02654075221075773

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Romantic nostalgia as a resource for healthy relationships

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Romantic nostalgia as a resource for healthy relationships

Nicholas D. Evans, Jacob Juhl, ERICA HEPPER, Tim Wildschut, Constantine Sedikides and Adam K. Fetterman

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol.39(7), pp.2181-2206

01/06/2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075221075773

Abstract

nostalgia

close relationships

romantic relationships

Emotions

Nostalgia is an emotion that confers psychological benefits. The literature has neglected romantic nostalgia—that is, nostalgia specifically for past experiences shared with one’s partner—and its potential advantages for relationships. We examined romantic nostalgia in one correlational study, two experiments, and one daily diary study (N = 638). Romantic nostalgia was positively associated with greater relationship commitment, satisfaction, and closeness (Study 1). Additionally, inducing romantic nostalgia via a writing task (Study 2) or music (Study 3) strengthened relational benefits. Finally, participants reported more positive relationship-specific experiences on days when they felt greater romantic nostalgia (Study 4). We discuss contributions to the nostalgia and relationships literatures.

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Title: Romantic nostalgia as a resource for healthy relationships
Creators: Nicholas D. Evans - The University of Texas at El Paso
Jacob Juhl - University of Southampton
ERICA HEPPER (Author) - University of Surrey, Psychology
Tim Wildschut - University of Southampton
Constantine Sedikides - University of Southampton
Adam K. Fetterman - University of Houston
Publication Details: Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol.39(7), pp.2181-2206
Publisher: SAGE Publications
First online publication date: 27/01/2022
Publication Date: 01/06/2022
Date accepted for publication: 07/01/2022
Grant note: The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Identifiers: 99624366602346; WOS:000775831900001
Academic Unit: Psychology
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article
Data Access Statement: Open research statement As part of IARR’s encouragement of open research practices, the authors have provided the following information: Studies 1 and 3 of this research were pre-registered. The aspects of the research that were pre-registered were the design/method, hypotheses, and analysis plans. The registration was submitted to: The Open Science Framework (Study 1: https://osf.io/d2k5y; Study 3: https://osf.io/n7k8m). The data used in the research are publicly posted. The data can be obtained at: https://osf.io/ybptk/or by emailing: ndevans@miners.utep.edu. The materials used in the research are publicly posted. The materials can be obtained in the Supplementary Material or by emailing: ndevans@miners.utep.edu.

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Romantic nostalgia as a resource for healthy relationships

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