REPRESENTATIONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOSTALGIC MEMORIES: AN INTERGENERATIONAL COMPARATIVE STUDY INVOLVING NATIVE AND IMMIGRANT GREEKS

Nostalgia is defined as a reconstruction of important representational memories in the present. The present study aimed to investigate the process of objectification of nostalgic memories, and, also, the effects of gender, age/ generation, country of residence, and rate of occurrence of nostalgic memories. It draws on data from a sample of 226 female and male Greek natives and immigrants residing in Germany. The participants belonged to three different generations (young adults/children, adults/parents, elders/grandparents). They completed an open-ended questionnaire on nostalgic experiences, the associated reasons and elicited emotions. They also responded to the Southampton Nostalgia Scale measuring proneness to nostalgia. The results showed that nostalgic memories involved interactions with significant others, first-time experiences, places, periods of one’s life, and important events that contributed to the person’s identity formation (reasons). The elicited emotions were both positive and negative. Correspondence analysis showed that nostalgic memories were associated with participants’ immigration status (native/ immigrant) and generation. Immigrants and elderly participants were more sensitive to the nostalgic process. The implications of the study are discussed in terms of social representations of nostalgic memories and their interaction with identity dimensions