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Tenu kala chasma jachda hai. Super Mario. Paper Boat drinks. Choker necklaces. Pokémon GO. La La Land. Gilmore Girls. Throwback Thursday. Facebook Memories. Unprecedented endorsement for “Back to the glory days”.
add_main_imageIt is undeniable that 2016 celebrated nostalgia in all its fervour and for good reason. We may not yet have the ability to physically travel through time, but mental time travel to the good old days is a rather cheap and effective way to feel better when we are unsure, uncertain, and uncomfortable. Last year certainly was not short of opportunities to make one feel that way.
Extant research in psychology shows that when people feel anxious, overwhelmed, or challenged in life, they use happy memories to anchor themselves.NextMAds
As psychologist Clay Routledge mentions in his book, Nostalgia: A Psychological Resource, we look at the past nostalgically to “right the ship”. Not surprisingly, research shows that feeling nostalgic inspires, galvanizes and motivates us to live life to its fullest.
A deeply personal feeling, this sentimental longing for the past, can strengthen the bond with the present and make one feel more optimistic about the future.
The treasured childhood memories of Maggi noodles and Dairy Milk chocolates make us all too willing to look past most transgressions. Even with sky-high expectations, blasts from the past often go on to become blockbusters.
Research shows that the effectiveness of nostalgia in making us buy more comes from its ability to weaken the desire for money. A 2014 paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research showed that when made to feel nostalgic, people were willing to pay more for products and displayed reduced price sensitivity.
No wonder then that Paper Boat can’t make enough of the thandai variant for Holi or the sharbat for Eid. In fact, ever since they announced that they are working on a kanji variant, my family in Delhi is on high alert.
A recent research article published in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that when made to feel nostalgic, people were more amenable to waiting. The effect is driven by the desire to relish the experience that induces the feelings of nostalgia.
Calling nostalgia “the gift that keeps on giving”, a 2012 paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that this feeling of relatedness makes us more prosocial.
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