Scientists Reveal Emotional Evolution of Nostalgic Memories in New Study
Nostalgic memories often feel like emotional anchors — warm, vivid, and deeply personal. But new research shows that these cherished recollections may not stay the same over time. According to a new peer-reviewed study, nostalgic memories become more emotionally complex as they age, gradually losing some of their initial positivity and acquiring bittersweet undertones.
How Nostalgia Changes Over Time
A study published April 1, 2025, in Cognition and Emotion by Tim Wildschut, Constantine Sedikides, Bettina Zengel, and John J. Skowronski explores how the emotional tone of nostalgic memories evolves from the time of the original event to the moment of recall. Conducted by researchers from the University of Southampton (United Kingdom), the University of Essex (United Kingdom), and Northern Illinois University (United States), the study used retrospective reporting to assess shifts in affect and emotion associated with nostalgic events.
The researchers focused on whether nostalgic memories follow the well-known “fading affect bias” (FAB)—a psychological pattern in which negative emotions fade more quickly over time than positive ones. Instead, they discovered that nostalgic memories behave differently, showing a unique emotional trajectory.
What the Researchers Investigated
The central question was whether nostalgic memories become less emotionally stable over time and how that compares to ordinary or neutral memories. The team designed two experiments using retrospective self-reports to measure participants’ emotions at the time of the original event and again at the time of recall. Their aim was to determine whether nostalgic events undergo a dual shift: a reduction in positive affect and an increase in negative affect.
In the study, the authors define nostalgic events as emotionally significant personal experiences that elicit a sense of longing for the past. These events are typically remembered with a mix of positive feelings—such as warmth, joy, or connection—and more complex emotions like loss or regret. Unlike ordinary or neutral memories, nostalgic events are characterized by their rich emotional content and personal relevance. According to the researchers, these memories often serve a reflective function, helping individuals make sense of their past in emotionally meaningful ways.
Memory is a complex cognitive process influenced by both affect and personal meaning. Learn more about how memory functions.
Both experiments received ethical approval from the University of Southampton. The researchers reported all manipulations, measures, and exclusions, and followed established journal reporting standards.
Inside the Study: Methods and Participants
In Experiment 1, 199 undergraduate students from the University of Southampton were randomly assigned to reflect on either a nostalgic or an ordinary event. Participants rated their emotional reactions to the event both when it happened and when they recalled it. They also completed a series of measures assessing psychological outcomes like social connectedness, self-esteem, and meaning in life.
Experiment 2 included 197 adult participants recruited online. This time, the control condition involved recalling neutral events. Additionally, the study assessed 13 discrete emotions—such as regret, loneliness, gratitude, and inspiration—at both the time of occurrence and recall.
The primary method used in both experiments was the “event reflection task,” a structured technique where participants described a past event and reported how it made them feel then and now.
What’s Innovative About This Study
The authors highlight the novelty of applying the fading affect bias paradigm specifically to nostalgic memories. Unlike earlier work that examined only emotions at the point of recall, this study directly compared emotional responses at two time points, revealing the dynamic nature of nostalgic affect.
The researchers suggest that nostalgic memories uniquely challenge the standard FAB pattern, offering a more emotionally layered picture that evolves with time and reflection.
Key Findings from the Study
According to the authors, the study revealed several major findings:
- “Whereas the FAB will be replicated for ordinary and neutral events, nostalgic events will show a different pattern,” the authors wrote. Specifically, nostalgic events displayed a fading of positive affect and an intensification of negative affect over time.
- Despite this shift, nostalgic events continued to elicit more positive emotions overall than ordinary or neutral events, particularly at the time they occurred.
- In Experiment 1, the authors report that the emotional benefits of nostalgia—such as enhanced social connectedness, self-esteem, and meaning—were statistically mediated by the strength of positive affect at the time of recall.
- In Experiment 2, changes in specific emotions like regret and loneliness were found to plausibly mediate the intensification of negative affect and the fading of positive affect associated with nostalgia.
- The emotion of gratitude behaved differently. As the paper notes, “Gratitude associated with nostalgic events intensified from occurrence to recall,” suggesting that some positive emotions may deepen with time rather than fade.
- The study also found that passion and inspiration, initially high in nostalgic events, tended to diminish over time. Meanwhile, loneliness and regret grew stronger during recall, adding to the bittersweet emotional tone.
How the Authors Interpret the Results
The authors propose that nostalgic memories do not merely decay or remain static but follow a unique trajectory. As stated in the article, “Nostalgic events may constitute a notable qualification to the usual FAB pattern.” The emotional richness of nostalgia may stem from the addition of reflections like “innocence lost” or “love lost,” which intensify over time.
These emotional changes were not observed in the same way for ordinary or neutral events, which generally followed the expected fading affect bias pattern or showed no significant emotional shift.
The authors further suggest that the increase in negative emotions—especially loneliness and regret—may be what transforms nostalgia into a more layered and complex emotional experience as it ages.
Conclusion
This study contributes a new perspective on how people relate to their own memories. By tracking how emotional responses to nostalgic events evolve over time, the research shows that nostalgia is far from static. It is dynamic, bittersweet, and deeply tied to how individuals process their past.
The findings may pave the way for future research into how memory and emotion interact across time, especially in relation to identity, well-being, and personal meaning. However, the authors clarify that more investigation is needed to understand how these emotional changes play out in everyday life.
Full study: DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2025.2484646
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