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Nostalgia in response to group‐based exclusion: The role of attachment‐related avoidance
Author(s) -
Abakoumkin Georgios,
Wildschut Tim,
Sedikides Constantine,
Bakarou Maria
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2235
Subject(s) - psychology , social psychology , ingroups and outgroups , moderation , mediation , social exclusion , moderated mediation , group identification , recall , identification (biology) , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , botany , political science , law , economics , biology , economic growth
We proposed that nostalgia, by virtue of its sociality, can be an indirect strategy to counteract relational deficiencies stemming from group‐based exclusion. We instructed Greek participants to recall an event in which they experienced exclusion on the basis of their nationality versus a control event. We anticipated that participants would react to group‐based exclusion with increased nostalgia. Specifically, because low attachment‐related avoidance facilitates proximity‐seeking in response to distress, we hypothesized that group‐based exclusion would increase nostalgia (a form of proximity‐seeking) more strongly when avoidance is low. Results supported this moderation hypothesis. In turn, increased nostalgia in response to group‐based exclusion predicted stronger ingroup identification. For low‐avoidants, then, group‐based exclusion fortified ingroup identification via increased nostalgia (moderated mediation).