Nostalgia is a bittersweet emotion marked by a sentimental reflection on one’s past accompanied by a sense of longing for the irrevocable. Critically, nostalgic reflection is linked to several psychological benefits, including enhanced mood, bolstered sense of belonging, and greater sense of meaning in life—particularly in the face of psychological distress (Sedikides & Wildschut, 2018). However, given that much of this research has been conducted on Western populations, this study investigates whether the benefits of nostalgia persist cross-culturally, and whether these effects are moderated by cultural orientation (i.e., an individualist vs. collectivist mindset). 

In an online study, 179 participants from nine countries completed the Culture Orientation Scale (Triandis & Gelfland, 1998) and an Event Reflection Task (Sedikides & Wildschut, 2018), during which they wrote a short essay about a nostalgic memory. Both before and after this exercise, participants completed a mood scale, the General Belongingness Scale (Malone et al., 2012), and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al., 2006). 

Collapsed across all nine countries, nostalgic reflection resulted in a modest mood boost, a slightly bolstered sense of belonging in both the acceptance and rejection dimensions of the scale, and a greater presence of meaning in life paired with a diminished search for meaning. While these benefits appear to persist across cultures regardless of cultural orientation, individuals scoring higher in collectivism demonstrated a relatively greater increase in acceptance scores.   

While this study is ongoing, these early findings offer a note of hope for the use of nostalgia as a therapeutic tool in our increasingly globalized world. Given that deprivation of belonging can lead to severe anxiety (Baumeister & Tice, 1990), and presence of meaning predicts life satisfaction (Steger et al., 2006), the protective benefits of nostalgia could potentially enhance psychological well-being for diverse populations.