Nostalgia promotes help seeking by fostering social connectedness

Individuals are often reluctant to seek help from others. Nostalgia is a highly social emotion that bolsters perceptions of connectedness with others. In 6 studies, we investigated whether nostalgia reduces individuals' general reluctance to reach out to others for help by virtue of its capacity to strengthen social connectedness (i.e., a sense of acceptance and support). In a preliminary study, we measured nostalgia, 6 comparator emotions, and help seeking. Nostalgia predicted help seeking, independently of the comparator emotions. In Experiments 1 through 4, we induced nostalgia (vs. control) and subsequently measured self-reported help seeking (Experiments 1 through 2), help-seeking behavior (Experiments 3 through 4), and social connectedness (Experiments 2 and 4). Nostalgia increased self-reported help seeking (Experiments 1 and 2) and help-seeking behavior (Experiments 3 and 4), and these effects were mediated by social connectedness (Experiments 2 and 4). In Experiment 5, we manipulated the social content of nostalgic reflections and measured help-seeking behavior. Nostalgia pertaining to social (but not to nonsocial) past events increased help seeking. In all, nostalgia is a resource that facilitates help seeking by fostering social connectedness.