Be more nostalgic:
The present research tested the proposition that nostalgia serves an existential function by bolstering a sense of meaning in life. Study 1 found that nostalgia was positively associated with a sense of meaning in life. Study 2 experimentally demonstrated that nostalgia increases a sense of meaning in life. In both studies, the link between nostalgia and increased meaning in life was mediated by feelings of social connectedness. Study 3 evidenced that threatened meaning increases nostalgia. Study 4 illustrated that nostalgia, in turn, reduces defensiveness following a meaning threat. Finally, Studies 5 and 6 showed that nostalgia disrupts the link between meaning deficits and compromised psychological well-being. Collectively, these findings indicate that the provision of existential meaning is a pivotal function of nostalgia.
Source: "The past makes the present meaningful: Nostalgia as an existential resource." from Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 101(3), Sep 2011, 638-652.
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS.
Related Posts:
Does a strong sense of meaning in life make you more attractive?
Can you get the well-being benefits of religion without being religious?
Does "will to live" really make a difference in when you die?
Read more posts on Barking Up The Wrong Tree »