Abstract
Inspired by calls for a greater integration of personality and social psychology, we tested whether personality traits (measured using the HEXACO model) predicted the expression of collective nostalgia-a group-based emotion that reflects sentimental longing for the past of one's social group. Results of a representative sample study conducted among Canadians showed that personality traits predicted the content of the collective nostalgia group members felt, above and beyond individual level socio-demographic characteristics and political orientation. Openness-focused nostalgia was predicted by greater openness to experience, agreeableness, and emotionality, whereas nostalgia for a homogenous society of the past was predicted by lower scores on honesty-humility and openness to experiences as well as greater emotionality and agreeableness. These findings show that individual and group-level phenomena are intertwined, which may help explain intra-group variation in beliefs and behaviors.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 111392 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Personality and Individual Differences |
Volume | 187 |
Early online date | 16 Dec 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2022 |
Keywords
- Collective nostalgia
- Personality
- HEXACO
- Openness-focused nostalgia
- Homogeneity-focused nostalgia
- Political orientation