National nostalgia: A group-based emotion that benefits the in-group but hampers intergroup relations

Abstract

Social psychological research on nostalgia has mainly considered this emotion at the individual level rather than the group level. The current paper proposes that group-based nostalgia for the nation (i.e., national nostalgia) is likely to be related to a positive in-group orientation and a negative out-group orientation, because it fosters an exclusionary and essentialist sense of national identity that is based on ancestry and common descent (i.e., ethnic national identity). This prediction was tested in three survey studies. Study 1 was conducted among a broad sample of the native Dutch population, and demonstrated that national (and not personal) nostalgia is positively related to national in-group identification and out-group prejudice. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 among a nationally representative sample of the native Dutch population, and provided support for the mediation by ethnic national identity. Study 3 replicated the findings of Study 2 and additionally demonstrated that national nostalgia positively predicts tendencies to protect national in-group identity, via a stronger sense of ethnic national identity. These findings demonstrate the potential of group-based nostalgia to have positive and negative consequences for group dynamics at the same time.