Nostalgia

• In Event: Complex Emotions in Media-Psychology Research

Abstract

Nostalgia is a mixed emotional state, a sentimental longing for the past. Nostalgia builds on the remembrance of passed significant life episodes that were shared with close others. The last two decades of research on nostalgia, particularly in psychology, produced a wealth of insights. Media Psychologists, too, started to examine nostalgia, but this complex emotion might inspire an even greater range of scholarly work. Therefore, I will outline the core psychological functions of nostalgia. Subsequently, I briefly link nostalgia to two media-psychological research areas. First, nostalgia is significant in the context of selective exposure and media consumption behaviour - I will use the rise of video game nostalgia as an example. Second, nostalgia is a key candidate to further illuminate eudaimonic entertainment, because it shares most of the characteristics associated with meaningful entertainment experiences (e.g., a bittersweet state, increases meaning and pro-social tendencies, and is associated with existential self-threats).

Author

• Tilo Hartmann, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam