Odyssey's end: Lay conceptions of nostalgia reflect its original homeric meaning.

TLDR

Nostalgia is known to serve important individual functions, yet no empirically grounded, comprehensive definition exists. The study aimed to investigate lay conceptions of nostalgia through a prototype approach. Participants generated open‑ended features of nostalgia (Study 1), which were coded into categories; in Study 2 they rated the centrality of these categories, which were then classified as central (e.g., memories, relationships, happiness) or peripheral (e.g., daydreaming, regret, loneliness). Central features were more frequently recalled and falsely recognized (Study 3), classified more quickly (Study 4), judged to reflect more nostalgia in a vignette (Study 5), better described participants’ own nostalgic versus ordinary experiences (Study 6), and elicited higher levels of nostalgia and its intrapersonal benefits when used to trigger a personal memory, regardless of age (Study 7); overall, lay people view nostalgia as a self‑relevant, socially blended emotional‑cognitive state combining happiness and loss, offering insights into its functions and suggesting new research methods.

Abstract

Nostalgia fulfills pivotal functions for individuals, but lacks an empirically derived and comprehensive definition. We examined lay conceptions of nostalgia using a prototype approach. In Study 1, participants generated open-ended features of nostalgia, which were coded into categories. In Study 2, participants rated the centrality of these categories, which were subsequently classified as central (e.g., memories, relationships, happiness) or peripheral (e.g., daydreaming, regret, loneliness). Central (as compared with peripheral) features were more often recalled and falsely recognized (Study 3), were classified more quickly (Study 4), were judged to reflect more nostalgia in a vignette (Study 5), better characterized participants' own nostalgic (vs. ordinary) experiences (Study 6), and prompted higher levels of actual nostalgia and its intrapersonal benefits when used to trigger a personal memory, regardless of age (Study 7). These findings highlight that lay people view nostalgia as a self-relevant and social blended emotional and cognitive state, featuring a mixture of happiness and loss. The findings also aid understanding of nostalgia's functions and identify new methods for future research.