Anticipated nostalgia is a new construct that has received limited empirical attention. It concerns the anticipation of having nostalgic feelings for one’s present and future experiences. In three...

In three studies, we examined food as an elicitor of nostalgia. Study 1 participants visualised eating either a nostalgic or regularly consumed food. Study 2 participants visualised consuming 12 foods. Study 3 participants consumed 12 flavour samples. Following their food experiences, all participants responded to questions regarding the profile of food-evoked nostalgia (i.e. autobiographical relevance, arousal, familiarity, positive and negative emotions) and several psychological functions (i.e. positive affect, self-esteem, social connectedness, meaning in life). Study 2 and 3 participants also reported (...) their state nostalgia. Results revealed that food is a powerful elicitor of nostalgia. Food-evoked nostalgia has a similar contextual profile to previously examined elicitors, but is a predominantly positive emotional experience. Food-evoked nostalgia served multiple psychological functions and predicted greater state nostalgia. (shrink)

Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for one’s past, can serve as a resource for individuals coping with discomforting experiences. The experience of bereavement poses psychological and physical risks....

We were concerned with the link between nostalgia and comfort in food experiences. In Studies 1 and 2, participants visualised 12 foods (Study 1) or consumed 12 flavour samples (Study 2). Following each respective food experience, they rated each food’s capacity to evoke nostalgia and comfort. In preregistered Studies 3 and 4, participants first visualised and wrote about eating either a personally nostalgic food or a regularly consumed food, and then indicated the extent to which the food experience increased nostalgia, (...) social connectedness, and comfort. In cross-sectional Studies 1 and 2, nostalgia associated with food experiences was linked to more comfort, but this relation exhibited greater complexity in experimental Studies 3 and 4. In the latter two studies, nostalgia for food experiences elevated comfort by strengthening social connectedness. (shrink)