tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/meaningful-life-6745/articlesMeaningful Life – The Conversation2019-02-13T01:16:05Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1103612019-02-13T01:16:05Z2019-02-13T01:16:05ZHaving a sense of meaning in life is good for you – so how do you get one?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257890/original/file-20190208-174890-1tn0xbx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's a high degree of overlap between experiencing happiness and meaning.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/KieferPix</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The pursuit of happiness and health is a popular endeavour, as the preponderance of self-help books would attest.</p>
<p>Yet it is also fraught. Despite ample advice from experts, individuals regularly engage in activities that may only have short-term benefit for well-being, or even <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181218-whats-the-quickest-way-to-happiness-do-nothing">backfire</a>.</p>
<p>The search for the heart of well-being – that is, a nucleus from which other aspects of well-being and health might flow – has been the focus of decades of research. New findings recently reported in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/4/1207">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a> point towards an answer commonly overlooked: meaning in life.</p>
<h2>Meaning in life: part of the well-being puzzle?</h2>
<p>University College London’s psychology professor <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/iehc/research/behavioural-science-health/people/staff/steptoe">Andrew Steptoe</a> and senior research associate <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/iehc/research/behavioural-science-health/people/staff/fancourt">Daisy Fancourt</a> analysed a sample of 7,304 UK residents aged 50+ drawn from the <a href="https://www.elsa-project.ac.uk/">English Longitudinal Study of Ageing</a>. </p>
<p>Survey respondents answered a range of questions assessing social, economic, health, and physical activity characteristics, including:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Follow-up surveys two and four years later assessed those same characteristics again. </p>
<p>One key question addressed in this research is: what advantage might having a strong sense of meaning in life afford a few years down the road?</p>
<p>The data revealed that individuals reporting a higher meaning in life had:</p>
<ul>
<li>lower risk of divorce</li>
<li>lower risk of living alone</li>
<li>increased connections with friends and engagement in social and cultural activities</li>
<li>lower incidence of new chronic disease and onset of depression</li>
<li>lower obesity and increased physical activity</li>
<li>increased adoption of positive health behaviours (exercising, eating fruit and veg).</li>
</ul>
<p>On the whole, individuals with a higher sense of meaning in life a few years earlier were later living lives characterised by health and well-being. </p>
<p>You might wonder if these findings are attributable to other factors, or to factors already in play by the time participants joined the study. The authors undertook stringent analyses to account for this, which revealed largely similar patterns of findings. </p>
<p>The findings join a body of prior research documenting longitudinal relationships between meaning in life and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2015.1117127">social functioning</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28461710">net wealth</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26630073">reduced mortality</a>, especially among <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12126-002-1004-2">older adults</a>. </p>
<h2>What <em>is</em> meaning in life?</h2>
<p>The historical arc of consideration of the meaning in life (not to be confused with the <a href="http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Meaning_of_life">meaning <em>of</em> life</a>) starts as far back as <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/finding-light-in-the-darkness/201803/greek-philosophy-and-the-key-happiness">Ancient Greece</a>. It tracks through the popular works of people such as Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist <a href="https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/viktor-frankl/">Victor Frankl</a>, and continues today in the field of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963721416656354">psychology</a>.</p>
<p>One definition, offered by well-being researcher <a href="https://psychology.missouri.edu/people/king">Laura King</a> and colleagues, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.90.1.179">says</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>…lives may be experienced as meaningful when they are felt to have a significance beyond the trivial or momentary, to have purpose, or to have a coherence that transcends chaos. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This definition is useful because it highlights three central components of meaning:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>purpose</strong>: having goals and direction in life </li>
<li><strong>significance</strong>: the degree to which a person believes his or her life has value, worth, and importance</li>
<li><strong>coherence</strong>: the sense that one’s life is characterised by predictability and routine. </li>
</ol>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RLFVoEF2RI0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Michael Steger’s TEDx talk What Makes Life Meaningful.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Curious about your own sense of meaning in life? You can take an interactive version of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, developed by Steger and colleagues, yourself <a href="https://kevgrig.github.io/mlq-react/">here</a>.</p>
<p>This measure captures not just the presence of meaning in life (whether a person feels that their life has purpose, significance, and coherence), but also the desire to search for meaning in life.</p>
<h2>Routes for cultivating meaning in life</h2>
<p>Given the documented benefits, you may wonder: how might one go about cultivating a sense of meaning in life? </p>
<p>We know a few things about participants in Steptoe and Fancourt’s study who reported relatively higher meaning in life during the first survey. For instance, they contacted their friends frequently, belonged to social groups, engaged in volunteering, and maintained a suite of healthy habits relating to sleep, diet and exercise.</p>
<p>Backing up the idea that seeking out these qualities might be a good place to start in the quest for meaning, several studies have causally linked these indicators to meaning in life. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2016.1209541">spending money on others and volunteering</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjhp.12113">eating fruit and vegetables</a>, and being in a well-connected <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2015.1117127">social network</a> have all been prospectively linked to acquiring a sense of meaning in life. </p>
<p>For a temporary boost, some activities have documented benefits for meaning in the short term: envisioning a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-018-9960-8">happier future</a>, writing a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2015.1048814">note of gratitude</a> to another person, engaging in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejsp.2519">nostalgic reverie</a>, and bringing to mind one’s <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0146167213499186">close relationships</a>. </p>
<h2>Happiness and meaning: is it one or the other?</h2>
<p>There’s a high degree of overlap between experiencing happiness and meaning – most people who report one also report the other. Days when people report feeling happy are often also days that people report <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16448317">meaning</a>. </p>
<p>Yet there’s a <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/the-differences-between-happiness-and-meaning-in-life/">tricky relationship</a> between the two. Moment-to-moment, happiness and meaning are often <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1948550616678455">decoupled</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2013.830764">Research</a> by social psychologist <a href="http://www.roybaumeister.com/">Roy Baumeister</a> and colleagues suggests that satisfying basic needs promotes happiness, but not meaning. In contrast, linking a sense of self across one’s past, present, and future promotes meaning, but not happiness. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-part-of-a-social-group-making-sure-you-are-will-improve-your-health-81996">Connecting socially</a> with others is important for both happiness and meaning, but doing so in a way that promotes meaning (such as via <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-03896-001">parenting</a>) can happen at the cost of personal happiness, at least temporarily.</p>
<p>Given the now-documented long-term social, mental, and physical benefits of having a sense of meaning in life, the recommendation here is clear. Rather than pursuing happiness as an end-state, ensuring one’s activities provide a sense of meaning might be a better route to living well and flourishing throughout life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110361/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa A Williams receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Don’t pursue happiness as a goal, instead make sure what you do from day to day provides a sense of meaning in life.Lisa A Williams, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/887092017-12-14T13:30:32Z2017-12-14T13:30:32ZThe Japanese concept of ikigai: why purpose might be a better goal than happiness<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198792/original/file-20171212-9389-oosgu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-women-arranging-flowers-vase-762594673?src=3JOAazvYNtfW9gukdVrdiQ-1-87">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Happiness is the subject of countless quotations, slogans, self-help books and personal choices. It is also being taken seriously by national governments and organisations like the United Nations, as something <a href="http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2017/">societies should aim for</a>.</p>
<p>This political recognition makes a welcome change from long held obsessions with income and economic growth when it comes to choosing policies or measuring their success – but it is not without its faults.</p>
<p>To begin with, how do you measure and compare national happiness levels? This is particularly challenging given that people have a tendency to inaccurately evaluate their emotional states or present themselves to others in a positive light. </p>
<p>Different cultural understandings of happiness also make comparisons difficult. But understanding what makes life worthwhile in certain contexts – which may be different from happiness – can offer an alternative perspective on well-being. </p>
<p>For example, even though the Japanese language possesses several terms that could be translated as “happiness” or “happy” (including “shiawase” and “koufuku”), one that has emerged as central to that country’s understanding of a life well lived is “ikigai”.</p>
<p>The word is often translated as: “that which makes life worth living” – having a purpose in life. Examples of ikigai could include aspects related to one’s social identity, like work or family, or the pursuit of self-realisation, such as hobbies or travel, activities that are seen as ends in themselves. </p>
<p>Numerous books have been published recently on how to find one’s true ikigai. In fact, the “ikigai treatise boom” peaked in the 1970s and 1980s – perhaps as the product of two trends characterising that period. Economic prosperity and the weakening of societal values both contributed to a sense of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/Economic-transformation">instability in Japan</a> at that time. </p>
<p>In the years since, after a lengthy era of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/nov/30/britains-economy-what-happened-japan">economic stagnation</a>, uncertainty in Japanese society has only increased. Today, books on ikigai appear to function more as a cultural export. </p>
<p>The idea is now often detached from its original context, and offered to foreigners as the “Japanese path to happiness”, not too dissimilar to the recent craze for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-danish-concept-of-hygge-and-why-its-their-latest-successful-export-67268">Danish concept of “hygge”</a>. </p>
<p>It would be easy, then, to dismiss the value of ikigai as a fad, or to take it at face value and neglect its nuanced cultural meanings. Both would be a mistake in my view, as despite its limitations, the concept of ikigai still has much to offer. </p>
<p>Japanese ideas of ikigai are often gender based. Men tend to say their work or employer gives them a sense of self-worth. Women often say their sense of meaning comes from family or motherhood. Such male-female framing is not only restrictive, it also poses a problem for those who are unable to frame their life in such terms. Japanese self-help manuals are most often targeted at retired or unemployed men, or single women. </p>
<p>In this sense, ikigai appears closely related to the idea of a clearly defined social role, offering a source of identity and meaning. It might also be seen to put an emphasis on only one domain of life, at the expense of others. Seeing work as one’s ikigai might make it all too easy to neglect meaningful pursuits outside the workplace. </p>
<p>One can feel the pressure to perceive a certain domain as the source of one’s ikigai – but what happens when that domain is no longer available, or no longer brings joy? Luckily, ikigai can also change and develop. </p>
<h2>A sense of purpose</h2>
<p>Focusing on one’s own happiness can prove self-defeating. The active pursuit of happiness and a determination to be or feel happy can quickly lead to a sense of inadequacy and disappointment. In this sense, happiness as a goal might be forever out of reach, little more than a fleeting and elusive ideal. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pursuing ikigai.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=-R53uh5GCLcgR4E-3slVcQ-2-97">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet the pursuit of other goals seen as worthwhile can lead to a sense of well-being. In this sense, ikigai, as a focus on a particular sphere of life or activity that makes life worth living, is important. It gives a sense of purpose to life, but one that need not be grand or monumental. </p>
<p>Unlike the English term “purpose in life”, ikigai need not imply large or extraordinary projects that promise to lift one above everyday experiences. Such projects can equally be located in the mundane and the humble. </p>
<p>Furthermore, as I have learned in <a href="https://www.haujournal.org/index.php/hau/article/view/hau5.3.008">my own research</a> with older Japanese, what makes ikigai effective is its inextricable link to a sense of mastery – the idea known as “chanto suru” that things should be done properly. As such, ikigai emphasises process and immersion rather than a final aim. </p>
<p>Doing something as well as you possibly can makes life more meaningful.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88709/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iza Kavedžija received research funding from the Japan Foundation and the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. </span></em></p>It’s all about doing things well.Iza Kavedžija, Lecturer in Anthropology, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/357102015-01-02T13:46:47Z2015-01-02T13:46:47ZStill thinking about your New Year’s resolutions? This year, try focusing on the good life<p>The end of the year is always a time of reflection on what we have done and what we have left undone. And, of course, it’s time to start thinking about those resolutions for the new year and what we will do differently.</p>
<p>Our New Year’s resolutions usually target minor vices – eat fewer snacks, drink less, stop smoking, exercise more – whatever your particular self-admonitions may be. But it is too easy to get lost in the particulars – and in the negatives. </p>
<p>In setting out our resolutions, we should first step back and take stock of what it is that we really want, what we consider the good life to be, and then think about how best we might achieve it. </p>
<h2>Well-being is more than just being well</h2>
<p>Fellow anthropologist <a href="http://www.arjunappadurai.org/">Arjun Appadurai</a> encourages us to be driven by an “ethics of possibility” – hope, aspiration, optimism – and not just the “ethics of probability” – costs and benefits, risk management and systematized rationalities. We can be pragmatic, but let’s not allow that pragmatism to kill our dreams of how things could be better. </p>
<p>I’ve spent the last few years studying what contributes to the good life – the elements of well-being – for folks around the world. I’ve talked to rural Maya coffee farmers in Guatemala and urban supermarket shoppers in Germany, as well as Americans from all walks of life. I’ve looked at notions of well-being in Mozambique, Brazil and China. I found that income is important, but not as important as we might first think. Health and security are also necessary, but insufficient, for living a fulfilled life. </p>
<p>Well-being, it turns out, is about more than just being well. It also requires strong family and social relations, a sense of dignity in our lives and fairness in our opportunities, and commitments to larger purposes.</p>
<p>For example Miguel, a 43-year-old Maya coffee farmer in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, I met during my research has benefited in recent years from the boom in high-end coffee in the US. He says that life is good right now – even if we might characterize his circumstances as extremely impoverished. He finds a dignity in owning his own land, in growing quality coffee that commands a decent price. He is committed to providing his children with more opportunities in life, and that endows his hard labor with a larger purpose.</p>
<p>Such large purposes may take many different forms. German shoppers who buy organic and fair trade products see this as a way of linking consumption to moral projects of ecological stewardship and social solidarity. Mastering a craft, political activism, even religious extremism – all are ways we give larger meaning to life. </p>
<p>Based on this research, there are some lessons to take away for our New Year’s resolutions. First, we need to ask what is really important in our lives – and how we can align what we do with those values. Then we should commit, or recommit, ourselves to larger purposes that go beyond self-interest. These could be grand (changing jobs to something more meaningful) or modest (cooking more meals at home for the family) — the crucial thing is that they are about more than just getting ahead.</p>
<h2>Lessons for a happy New Year</h2>
<p>In fact, sometimes being less productive economically can make us better off in terms of well-being. <a href="http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/dyanagi/Research/Ramadan.pdf">Filipe Campante and David Yanagizawa-Drott found</a> that in Muslim countries, the fasting and observances during Ramadan had a negative impact on GDP growth, but that individuals also reported being happier and more satisfied with their lives. Giving something up for a greater good – and just giving more broadly – is deeply rewarding.</p>
<p>Second, we should be generous with the time we invest in family and social relations. Material goods usually bring only fleeting happiness, and yet we often pin our hopes and dreams on the accumulation of things we hope will make us happy. Focusing on relationships and experiences adds much more to our long-term life satisfaction. Across cultures, we find that strong social relations and the amount of time spent with family are very good predictors of overall well-being.</p>
<p>For many in the US, this means adjusting our work/life balance. In Germany, there is a clear distinction between work and play. Germans are more productive than Americans when at work, but they also work less and guard their time off. At Volkswagen, managers have demanded that Blackberry servers be turned off after working hours so that they will not be expected (or tempted) to respond on their own time. Americans spend much more time at work than in many other industrialized countries – around <a href="http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=ANHRS">1,800 hours</a> per year on average, compared to around 1,400 hours for Germans. In 1930, John Maynard Keynes famously <a href="http://www.econ.yale.edu/smith/econ116a/keynes1.pdf">predicted</a> that by now productivity would be so high, the average work week would be only 15 hours. And yet our material wants have outpaced even our dramatic productivity gains. </p>
<p>Finally, we should take time to step back from our culture of busy-ness and getting ahead to appreciate what we already have. It may be human nature to want more, but the good life also rests on gratitude and purpose. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was updated on December 30 2015.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35710/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ted Fischer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In setting out our resolutions, we should first step back and take stock of what it is that we really want, what we consider the good life to be, and then think about how best we might achieve it.Ted Fischer, Professor, Anthropology and Director, Center for Latin American Studies, Vanderbilt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/166582013-08-19T20:29:15Z2013-08-19T20:29:15ZA new view of an old emotion, or how science is saving nostalgia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29372/original/kpvs6mjk-1376616997.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A trip down memory lane could do you more good than you might think.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex Bowyer</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I was recently interviewed by a reporter from a major news organisation about my research on the psychology of nostalgia. </p>
<p>The reporter was asking me questions such as, “Isn’t it unhealthy to live in the past?” and, “Does nostalgia keep people from looking forward, planning for the future, and embracing new opportunities?” </p>
<p>Turns out this reporter had spoken to some economists who were pushing the idea that nostalgia is a barrier to living in the present and investing in the future.</p>
<p>I wasn’t terribly surprised that the starting point of our conversation was about how nostalgia might be problematic. After all, this has been the view of this emotion for hundreds of years.</p>
<h2>A sad history</h2>
<p>When the term nostalgia was coined in the late 18th century, it was employed to describe what was believed to be a cerebral disease unique to Swiss mercenaries fighting wars far from home. </p>
<p>Nostalgia was a source of suffering, causing symptoms such as irregular heartbeats, anxiety, insomnia, and disordered eating. </p>
<p>Eventually, nostalgia evolved from being considered a medical condition to being viewed as a mental disorder similar to depression. And this was the case until the later part of the 20th century.</p>
<p>The problem with this view of nostalgia as unhealthy is that it is empirically unsubstantiated. Past scholars and practitioners did not systematically explore the experience of nostalgia and the effect it had on people.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29375/original/9vvk4499-1376617384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29375/original/9vvk4499-1376617384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29375/original/9vvk4499-1376617384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29375/original/9vvk4499-1376617384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29375/original/9vvk4499-1376617384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29375/original/9vvk4499-1376617384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29375/original/9vvk4499-1376617384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nostalgia activates positive states such as increased self-esteem, and feelings of social connectedness.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">emdot/Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They observed that nostalgia was accompanied by symptoms indicative of ill health (anxiety, for instance, and sadness) and assumed that they were the cause. They didn’t entertain the possibility that the relationship went the other way: nostalgia is a response to distress, not the trigger. </p>
<p>So, nostalgia had a bad rep.</p>
<p>During my interview, I asked the reporter what kind of data these economists had to support the view that nostalgia is harmful. Silence. And then the distant sound of crickets.</p>
<h2>A new page</h2>
<p>Nostalgia has now received a great deal of attention in the field of empirical psychology and <a href="http://cdp.sagepub.com/content/17/5/304.short">dozens of published studies</a> paint a much more positive picture of this emotion than past scholars did (and some present-day economists evidently).</p>
<p>Many of these studies were conducted by my colleagues and I, and after about ten years of laboratory research, a number of questions about nostalgia can now be answered with data.</p>
<p>Does nostalgia lead to poor mental health? That is, is nostalgia bad for you? No. <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/91/5/975/">Studies</a> in which nostalgia is experimentally manipulated indicate that engaging in nostalgic thoughts does not lead to negative emotional states.</p>
<p>Instead, nostalgia activates a number of positive states. Specifically, nostalgia increases positive mood, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15298868.2010.521452#.UgucHqwuc4I">self-esteem</a>, feelings of social connectedness, and <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/101/3/638/">perceptions of meaning in life</a>. </p>
<p>To date, no research has reliably observed any negative psychological consequences of nostalgia.</p>
<p>OK, but why is nostalgia good for people? To answer this question, we need to consider the content of nostalgic memories. </p>
<p>Studies indicate that nostalgic memories are focused on <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/91/5/975/">personally treasured life experiences</a>. When people engage in nostalgia, they bring to mind past experiences that they find meaningful. </p>
<p>Nostalgic memories tend to prominently feature the self, but are also very social in nature. People are nostalgic about time spent with close others.</p>
<p>Finally, nostalgic memories are happy memories or at least memories that have happy endings. So nostalgia is good for people because nostalgic reflection allows them to revisit cherished experiences from the past shared with friends and family. </p>
<p>And these experiences make people feel meaningful, valued, loved and happy.</p>
<h2>What makes people nostalgic?</h2>
<p>Nostalgia has a wide range of triggers. Familiar smells, music, and connecting with old friends on Facebook can activate nostalgia. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29366/original/hf3295sp-1376616304.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29366/original/hf3295sp-1376616304.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29366/original/hf3295sp-1376616304.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29366/original/hf3295sp-1376616304.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29366/original/hf3295sp-1376616304.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29366/original/hf3295sp-1376616304.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29366/original/hf3295sp-1376616304.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many things can trigger nostalgia, such as music.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">avern/Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/91/5/975/">research shows</a> the experiences that most commonly trigger nostalgia could be described as psychological threats. Loneliness, for instance, is a prominent trigger of nostalgia. </p>
<p>Other psychological threats that have been documented to generate nostalgia include negative moods and feelings of meaninglessness. So past physicians and therapists might have been correct in detecting a relationship between negative emotional states and nostalgia. </p>
<p>But they were wrong about the direction of the relationship. Nostalgia doesn’t trigger distress, distress triggers nostalgia. And, as current research <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/101/3/638/">demonstrates</a>, nostalgia promotes good psychological health. </p>
<p>Indeed, nostalgia appears to be the tool people use to counter or cope with negative psychological states.</p>
<h2>Is it good?</h2>
<p>Nostalgia helps people cope with psychological vulnerabilities. A recent series of <a href="http://pss.sagepub.com/content/19/10/1023.short">studies</a>, for instance, indicates that loneliness leads to nostalgia, which, in turn, increases feelings of social support. </p>
<p>A consequence of being lonely is the feeling that you have no one to turn to for support. And perceived social support is important for mental and physical health. </p>
<p>Nostalgic memories typically involve close relationships and remind people that they have others who care about them. So when people are lonely, they recruit nostalgia to bolster feelings of social support. </p>
<p>Other <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103106001661">studies</a> indicate that nostalgia similarly helps people cope with feelings of meaninglessness.</p>
<p>A number of scholars in labs around the world are now studying nostalgia. And a similar picture is emerging across these different labs. </p>
<p>Nostalgia is a healthy emotion that promotes well-being and helps people cope with vulnerabilities and insecurities. Nostalgia is not about living in the past, it is utilising the past to help with struggles in the present. </p>
<p>Nostalgia doesn’t keep people from looking ahead and planning for the future – it helps give them the strength to move forward.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/16658/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clay Routledge does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>I was recently interviewed by a reporter from a major news organisation about my research on the psychology of nostalgia. The reporter was asking me questions such as, “Isn’t it unhealthy to live in the…Clay Routledge, Associate Professor Dept of Psychology, North Dakota State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.