The effects of nostalgia and avoidant attachment on relationship satisfaction and romantic motives

Abstract

The current research tested whether attachment-related avoidance interacts with nostalgia to predict individuals’ orientation towards romantic relationships. In Study 1, participants were in a relationship, and in Study 2, participants were single. In both studies, attachment-related avoidance and anxiety were measured and participants were assigned to a nostalgia or control induction. Subsequently, participants indicated their relationship satisfaction (Study 1) or desire to pursue a romantic relationship (Study 2). Results revealed that there was a negative relationship between attachment-related avoidance and high levels of relationship satisfaction (Study 1) and relationship desire (Study 2) in the nostalgia condition, but not in the control condition. These findings build upon previous research on attachment and nostalgia to suggest that attachment-related avoidance greatly influences how nostalgia affects romantic relationship-oriented outcomes. Nostalgia appears to orient low avoidant individuals towards relationships and high avoidant individuals away from relationships.

Keywords

attachment avoidance nostalgia relationship motivation romantic relationships relationship satisfaction

Recent research has unearthed the psychological benefits of nostalgia (Sedikides, Wildschut, Arndt, & Routledge, 2008). In particular, this research indicates that nostalgia is a highly social emotion that provides a sense of belongingness, especially for those low in attachment-related avoidance (avoidance; Wildschut, Sedikides, Routledge, Arndt, & Cordaro, 2010). Past research also demonstrated that people with low avoidance have positive cognitions and emotions associated with romantic relationships, while those with high avoidance have negative cognitions and emotions associated with romantic relationships (Fraley & Shaver, 2000). However, no research has explored whether nostalgia and avoidance interact to influence people’s orientation towards romantic relationships. The current research addresses this issue.

The psychology of nostalgia

Recent research indicates that nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, provides many psychological benefits. Nostalgia benefits mood (e.g., increases positive affect) and enhances the self (e.g., increases self-esteem; Wildschut, Sedikides, Arndt, & Routledge, 2006). Nostalgia also increases meaning in life (Routledge et al., 2011). Most relevant to the current research, nostalgia orients people toward social relationships. Nostalgic narratives typically focus on social settings and discuss important relationships. In addition, induced nostalgia increases feelings of relatedness and interpersonal competence and support (Wildschut et al., 2006).

Nostalgia and attachment-related avoidance

Drawing upon previous theory and research showing that attachment styles (e.g., Bowlby, 1969) influence people’s social relationships (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2003), Wildschut and colleagues (2010) investigated how individual differences in avoidance affect nostalgia’s interpersonal benefits. Specifically, Wildschut and colleagues (2010) predicted that individuals with low (relative to high) avoidance would be most likely to benefit interpersonally from nostalgia, because low avoidance is characterized by increased willingness and ability to become close to other people. Consistent with their prediction, among those low, but not high, in avoidance, nostalgia increased perceptions of social connectedness and interpersonal confidence. It is worth noting that no effects involving attachment-related anxiety (anxiety) were observed. In sum, nostalgia is a social resource, particularly for people low in avoidance; however, this research focused only on general feelings of social connectedness and did not consider the context of romantic relationships. Considering that romantic relationships are a major domain of interpersonal life, when assessing the social benefits of nostalgia, it is important to explicitly examine how nostalgia influences people’s orientation towards romantic relationships.

Avoidance and romantic relationships

Researchers have used attachment theory to study adult romantic relationships (Hazan & Shaver, 1987). Specifically, research has focused on how avoidance influences romantic relationship functioning (Fraley & Shaver, 2000). In adulthood, high avoidance is characterized by extreme self-reliance and discomfort with dependence on others, as well as unwillingness or inability to become emotionally close to other people (Hazan & Shaver, 1987). Those with high avoidance have less satisfaction with romantic relationships (Hazan & Shaver, 1987), have greater concern with possessing control in romantic relationships (Mikulincer, 1998), and are generally less intimate (Levy & Davis, 1988). Conversely, those with low avoidance experience fewer relationship difficulties (McCarthy & Taylor, 1999) and are more likely to seek comfort and support from partners (Collins & Feeney, 2000). People with low avoidance tend to have high relationship satisfaction and relationships built on trust, commitment, and interdependence (Feeney, Noller, & Callan, 1994). In short, it is individuals low in avoidance who have successful romantic relationships and positive cognitions and emotions associated with romantic relationships. Conversely, it is those high in avoidance that have unsuccessful romantic relationships and negative cognitions and emotions associated with romantic relationships.

The current research

We noted that nostalgia is a highly social emotion that evokes cognitions about important relationships. We have also noted that for those low in avoidance, romantic relationships are associated with positive cognitions and emotions, and those with high avoidance are associated with negative cognitions and emotions. Based on this, we predict that when nostalgia is experimentally induced, it will affect the relationship between avoidance and individuals’ orientation towards romantic relationships, such that low levels of avoidance will be associated with increased orientation toward romantic relationships and high levels of avoidance will be associated with decreased orientation towards romantic relationships. We also believe that it is possible that anxiety may similarly interact with nostalgia. Individual differences in anxiety also reflect positive versus negative attitudes towards romantic relationships (e.g., Campbell, Simpson, Boldry, & Kashy, 2005). However, Wildschut et al. (2010) found that anxiety did not interact with nostalgia.

Study 1

In Study 1, participants currently in a relationship were recruited, avoidance and anxiety were measured, nostalgia was manipulated, and relationship satisfaction was assessed. We predicted that when nostalgia was induced, low avoidance would be associated with high relationship satisfaction, while high avoidance would be associated with low relationship satisfaction.

Method

Participants

Forty undergraduate students (23 male, 17 female) from North Dakota State University, who were currently in a romantic relationship, participated. Participants were informed that they were going to participate in a study about personality and attitudes about the past.

Materials and procedure

First, participants completed the Revised Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR-R; Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000) by indicating their agreement with 36 statements on a seven-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Eighteen items assessed avoidance (e.g., “I worry that romantic partners won’t care about me as much as I care about them”) and 18 assessed anxiety (e.g., “I am very uncomfortable with being close to romantic partners”). Both anxiety (α = .91; M = 3.83, SD = 1.09) and avoidance (α = .95; M = 2.52, SD = 1.09) scales were reliable and these scales were not correlated, r = .07, p = .66.

Next, participants were randomly assigned to a nostalgia or control condition used in previous research (Wildschut et al., 2006). In the nostalgia condition, participants were first given the definition of nostalgia and then instructed to “bring to mind a nostalgic event in your life. Specifically, try to think of a past event that makes you feel most nostalgic.” They were then told to take a few minutes to write about their nostalgic experience. In the control condition, the participants received parallel instructions concerning a recent ordinary event. Wildschut et al. (2006) demonstrated that this manipulation increases nostalgia.

Next, relationship satisfaction was assessed by averaging responses to three questions (“Right now, how satisfied are you with your current romantic relationship?”, “Right now, how successful is your current relationship?”, and “Right now, how fulfilled are you with your current relationship?”) using a seven-point scale (1 = not at all, 7 = totally; α = .76; M = 5.78, SD = .94). Finally, participants were asked to indicate how long they have been in their relationship.

Results

We conducted a hierarchical regression analysis in which the main effects of avoidance (centered) and nostalgia (dummy coded) were entered in the first step and their interaction in the second step, as predictors of relationship satisfaction (see Table 1). There was a main effect of avoidance such that avoidance was negatively associated with relationship satisfaction, b = –.40, SE = .13, t = –3.08, p < .01. This effect was qualified by a significant interaction in the second step, b = –.67, SE = .30, t = –2.80, p = .03 (Figure 1). Simple slope tests revealed that within the control condition, there was a marginally significant negative relationship between avoidance and relationship satisfaction, b = –.25, SE = .14, t = –1.78, p = .08. Within the nostalgia condition, this relationship was larger and significant, b = –.92, SE = .26, t = –3.55, p < .01. In addition, we conducted predicted means tests at +/– 1 SD from the mean of avoidance. These test revealed that there were no significant differences at low, b = .62, SE = .39, t = 1.62, p = .11, or high, b = –.84, SE = .45, t = –1.87, p = .07, avoidance. However, upon examining Figure 1, it is clear that the negative relationship between avoidance and relationship satisfaction in the nostalgia condition is characterized by both increases in relationship satisfaction for those with low avoidance and decreases in relationship satisfaction for those with high avoidance. When rerunning the analysis including duration of relationship and gender, the interaction and simple slope test within the nostalgia condition remained significant (ps < .05). Additionally, there were no effects associated with duration of the relationship (p > .65) or gender (p > .20). When we ran parallel analyses with anxiety, there were no main or interactive effects (ps > .40). In sum, nostalgia strengthened the association between low avoidance and increased relationship satisfaction and high avoidance and decreased relationship satisfaction.

Table 1.

Hierarchical regression predicting relationship satisfaction in Study 1

Variable	B	Standard error	t	F	p
Step 1				4.95	.01
Nostalgia	.01	.28	.05		.96
Avoidance	–.40	.13	–3.08		<.01
Step 2				5.41	<.01
Nostalgia	.11	.27	.41		.69
Avoidance	–.92	.26	–3.55		<.01
Nostalgia X Avoidance	.67	.30	2.28		.03
Hierarchical regression predicting relationship desire in Study 2
Step 1				8.40	<.01
Nostalgia	–.08	.29	–.28		.78
Avoidance	–.77	.19	–4.10		<.01
Step 2				7.31	<.01
Nostalgia	–.07	.28	–.26		.79
Avoidance	–1.08	.24	–4.55		<.01
Nostalgia X Avoidance	.75	.37	2.02		.05

Figure 1.

The effects of attachment-related avoidance and nostalgia on relationship satisfaction.

Study 2

Although Study 1 provided evidence that nostalgia strengthens the inverse association between avoidance and orientation towards romantic relationships, it only focused on people in relationships. Might nostalgia and avoidance similarly interact to predict the relationship motives of single people? To address this question in Study 2, avoidance and anxiety were measured, nostalgia was manipulated, and the desire to be in a relationship was assessed. Again, because nostalgia elicits cognitions about relationships and because low avoidance is associated with positive cognitions and emotions about romantic relationships and high avoidance is associated with negative cognitions and emotions about romantic relationships, we predicted that when nostalgia is induced, low avoidance would be associated with high relationship desire, while high avoidance would be associated with low relationship desire.

Method

Participants

Fifty-two single undergraduate students (35 male, 17 female) from North Dakota State University participated. Participants were informed that they were going to participate in a study about personality and attitudes about the past.

Materials and procedure

First, participants completed the ECR-R (Fraley et al., 2000) to assess attachment avoidance (α = .88; M = 3.28, SD = .77) and attachment anxiety (α = .93; M = 4.02, SD = 1.01; these scales were not correlated, r = −.01, p = .95), and were randomly assigned to the nostalgia or control condition described in Study 1.

Then, relationship desire was assessed with three questions (“Right now, how much do you desire to start a romantic relationship?”, “Right now, to what extent are you looking for a romantic partner?”, and “Right now, how open are you to starting a serious romantic relationship?”) using a seven-point scale (1 = not at all, 7 = totally, α = .79; M = 4.73, SD = 1.17).

Results

As before, there was a main effect of avoidance, b = –.77, SE = .19, t = –4.10, p < .01, which was qualified by a significant interaction, b = –.75, SE = .37, t = –2.02, p = .05 (see Table 1 and Figure 2). Within the control condition, there was no significant relationship between avoidance and relationship desire, b = –.32, SE = .29, t = –1.12, p = .27. Within the nostalgia condition, there was a significant negative relationship between avoidance and relationship desire, b = –1.07, SE = .24, t = –4.55, p < .01. There were no significant differences between the nostalgia and control conditions at low (–1 SD), b = .65, SE = .40, t = 1.64, p = .11, or high (+1 SD), b = –.50, SE = .40, t = –1.26, p = .21, avoidance. However, upon examining Figure 2, it is clear that the negative relationship between avoidance and relationship desire in the nostalgia condition is characterized by both increases in relationship desire for those with low avoidance and decreases in relationship desire for those with high avoidance. Additionally, when running the analysis with gender, there was no main effect of gender on relationship desire (p > .49) and the interaction and simple slope test within the nostalgia condition remained significant (ps ≤ .05). When running parallel analyses with anxiety, there was a main affect of anxiety, such that higher anxiety was associated with increased relationship desire, b = .39, t = 2.50, SE = .16, p = .02; however, there was no interaction with nostalgia. In sum, nostalgia strengthened the association between low avoidance and increased relationship desire and high avoidance and decreased relationship desire.

Figure 2.

The effects of attachment-related avoidance and nostalgia on relationship desire.

General discussion

The present research provided initial evidence that nostalgia interacts with avoidance to predict people’s orientation toward romantic relationships. Nostalgia amplified the negative relationships between avoidance and relationship satisfaction for coupled people and avoidance and relationship desire for single people. These findings have important theoretical implications and pave the way for future research examining the interface between attachment-related processes and nostalgia.

First, the present studies offer the first empirical examination of how attachment and nostalgia interact to affect romantic relationship-specific outcomes. Considering that attachment-related avoidance appeared to play a powerful role in whether nostalgia oriented people towards or away from relationships, future research on this topic is critical. For example, previous work has shown that in addition to general attachment style, people can have attachment styles that are relationship specific (Collins & Read, 1994). It is noteworthy that in the current research we found romantic relationship-specific effects using a generalized attachment measure. This is especially noteworthy in Study 1, where participants were presently in a relationship and the outcome of interest concerned that current relationship. Future research should refine this analysis by assessing relationship-specific attachment dimensions.

It is also a question for future research to better understand the mechanisms and processes that drive this pattern of results. We predicted this pattern because nostalgia renders cognitions about important relationships salient and individuals vary in the extent to which their cognitions and emotions about such relationships are positive or negative. Specifically, those with low avoidance have positive cognitions and emotions (e.g., comfort – Collins & Feeney, 2000; trust – Feeney et al., 1994) associated with romantic relationships. Those with high avoidance have negative cognitions and emotions (e.g., discomfort – Hazan & Shaver, 1987) associated with romantic relationships. Thus, we propose that for those with low avoidance, nostalgia makes salient positive cognitions and emotions regarding romantic relationships, resulting in increased relationship satisfaction and desire. Conversely, for those with high avoidance, nostalgia makes salient negative cognitions and emotions regarding romantic relationships, resulting in decreased relationship satisfaction and desire. Future research should directly assess whether these types of cognitions and emotions are evoked by nostalgia for those with high and low avoidance, and whether these cognitions and emotions in turn mediate the interactive effect of nostalgia and avoidance on relationship satisfaction and desire.

A further explanation of the current results follows from work that illuminates how attachment-related cognitions shape information processing. Specifically, numerous studies indicate that low avoidant individuals are open to thinking about both positive and negative information regarding close relationships, while high avoidant individuals actively suppress cognitions about close relationships (Dykas & Cassidy, 2011). Thus, it is possible that in the current studies attachment-related avoidance not only dictated the positivity or negativity of people’s nostalgic reflections, but also dictated the extent to which people’s nostalgic reflections were relationship oriented. That is, if high avoidant individuals actively suppress relationship-oriented cognitions or simply try to avoid thinking about close relationships, then the nostalgia induction may not have succeeded at bringing online relationship-oriented cognitions. Instead, for these individuals, nostalgia may have simply increased efforts to avoid thinking about relationships, which in turn may have reduced relationship satisfaction and desire. Future studies should examine the extent to which nostalgia makes romantic relationship cognitions salient for individuals low and high on attachment-related avoidance, as well as the extent to which people try to actively suppress such cognitions after nostalgia. Although previous research indicates that nostalgia is a highly social emotion, this may not be the case for people high in attachment-related avoidance. Thus, the current research has important implications for how researchers conceptualize nostalgia.

It is interesting that we found no interactive effects between nostalgia and anxiety, considering past research on anxiety indicates that this dimension also influences attitudes about relationships (Campbell et al., 2005). However, the present work combined with other recent studies (Wildschut et al., 2010) indicates that it is only the avoidant dimension of attachment that interacts with nostalgia on social outcomes. Future research is needed to further examine this issue.

The current findings complement research on the psychological benefits of nostalgia, and also suggest that nostalgia may not always be beneficial. First, as previously discussed, nostalgia increases positive affect, self-esteem, meaning in life, and feelings of social connectedness. The current research, by focusing specifically on romantic relationships, demonstrated an additional benefit for those with low avoidance. That is, nostalgia promotes positive relationship outcomes. However, for those with high avoidance, nostalgia may be a liability in terms of maintaining functional romantic relationships. This implication is particularly important, as it is the first time research has shown any negative outcomes of nostalgia. Future research should continue to assess the types of individuals who may experience negative outcomes as a result of nostalgia.

Footnotes

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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