Examining the Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Nostalgia Appeals: A Comparative Experiment of Nostalgia and Regret

ABSTRACT

Obesity rates remain high among U.S. adults, especially rural residents. Research has shown that nostalgia appeals effectively promote several healthy behaviors. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying nostalgia appeals remain unclear. This study examined the effects of nostalgia appeals on intention to increase exercise and shed light on how nostalgia affected persuasive outcomes. We anticipated that nostalgia appeals would persuade people by enhancing self-esteem and reducing anger and counterarguing. To illuminate the mechanisms underlying the effects of nostalgia, a between-subject experiment (nostalgia appeal vs. regret appeal vs. irrelevant message vs. neutral persuasive message) was conducted among overweight or obese rural Michiganders (N = 507). Results showed that relative to the regret appeal, the nostalgia appeal led to higher state self-esteem, less anger, and less counterarguing. There was no significant difference in attitude or behavioral intention between the nostalgia appeal, regret appeal, and neutral persuasive message. We demonstrated that enhancing self-esteem was the key mechanism by which the nostalgia appeal persuaded the target audience.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in OSF at https://osf.io/g8yj3?view_only=b1c8ae3c3416460bbf3e53d0f8c72df0

Supplemental materials

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2355441.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported with funding from the Charles J. Strosacker Graduate Research Fund for Health and Risk Communication in the College of Communication Arts & Sciences, Michigan State University.