We proposed and tested the hypothesis that nostalgia fosters creativity. In Experiments 1 and 2, we examined whether nostalgia increases creativity. Nostalgia, relative to control, sparked creative prose in a writing task. We proceeded to test the mediating role of openness to experience. As hypothesized, openness to experience emerged as a plausible mediator of nostalgia's positive influence on creativity in Experiment 3. Finally, in Experiment 4, nostalgia, mediated by openness, boosted creativity above and beyond positive affect. The findings showcase the relevance of nostalgic reverie for the present and future, and establish nostalgia as a force of creative endeavors.
Nostalgia, ‘a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past’ (The New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1998), has been linked to creativity. Nearly 3000 years ago, Homer famously crafted the epic poem about Odysseus, whose nostalgic yearning for homeland and family fueled his conquests over temptations and monstrosities ( Homer, 1921). The Romantic Movement included nostalgic art ( Austin, 2003), as expressed in fiction (e.g., Fyodor Dostoyevsky; Hudspith, 2004) and poetry (e.g., William Wordsworth; Goodman, 2008). Contemporary creative culture prominently features nostalgia. Examples are the 1978 film Grease ( Flinn, 1992), the 1980s “retro” movement ( Cook, 2009), the television series The Wonder Years (1988–1993), and That 70s Show (1998–2006; Marchegiani & Phau, 2013).
The cultural association of nostalgia with the aforementioned creative works may suggest that nostalgia is a conservative, traditionalist sentiment. After all, authors have argued that nostalgia takes people back to a glorified past (Flinn, 1992). Such an impression, however, would be largely unwarranted. Rather, nostalgia impacts on the present and on the future (Sedikides et al., 2008 and Sedikides et al., 2015). For example, nostalgia triggers self-regulatory strivings to cope with discomfort (e.g., loneliness; Zhou, Sedikides, Wildschut, & Gao, 2008), increases empathy (Zhou, Wildschut, Sedikides, Shi, & Feng, 2012), breeds inspiration (Stephan et al., 2015), and raises optimism (Cheung et al., 2013). In all, nostalgia harnesses the past for engaging with the present and future. Consistent with this view, we hypothesize that nostalgia fosters creativity and influences creative expression. We begin by reviewing the literatures on creativity and nostalgia.
