Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for one's past, has been garnering keen empirical attention in the psychological literature over the last two decades. After providing a historical overview, we place the emotion in cross-cultural context. Laypeople in many cultures conceptualize nostalgia similarly: as a past-oriented, social, self-relevant, and bittersweet emotion, but more sweet (positively toned) than bitter (negatively toned). That is, the nostalgizer reflects on a fond and personally important event—often their childhood or valued relationships—relives the event through rose-colored glasses, yearns for that time or relationship, and may even wish to return briefly to the past. Also, triggers of nostalgia (e.g., adverts, food, cold temperatures, loneliness) are similar across cultures. Moreover, across cultures nostalgia serves three key functions: it elevates social connectedness (a sense of belongingness or acceptance), meaning in life (a sense that one's life is significant, purposeful, and coherent), and self-continuity (a sense of connection between one's past and present self). Further, nostalgia acts as a buffer against discomforting psychological states (e.g., loneliness) similarly in varied cultural contexts. For example, (1) loneliness is positively related to, or intensifies, nostalgia; (2) loneliness is related to, or intensifies, adverse outcomes such as unhappiness or perceived lack of social support; and (3) nostalgia suppresses the relation between loneliness and adverse outcomes. Additionally, nostalgia facilitates one's acculturation to a host culture. Specifically, (1) nostalgia (vs. control) elicits a positive acculturation orientation toward a host culture; (2) nostalgia (vs. control) amplifies bicultural identity integration; and (3) positive acculturation orientation mediates the effect of host-culture nostalgia on bicultural identity integration. We conclude by identifying lacunae in the literature and calling for follow-up research.

中文翻译：

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跨文化的怀旧

怀旧，一种对过去的感伤的向往，在过去的二十年里一直在心理学文献中引起强烈的实证关注。在提供历史概览后，我们将情感置于跨文化背景中。许多文化中的外行人将怀旧概念化为类似：作为一种以过去为导向的、社会的、自我相关的和苦乐参半的情感，但比苦涩（消极的色调）更甜（积极的色调）。也就是说，怀旧者会回想起一件喜欢的和个人重要的事件——通常是他们的童年或珍贵的关系——戴着玫瑰色眼镜重温该事件，渴望那个时间或关系，甚至可能希望短暂地回到过去。此外，怀旧的触发因素（例如，广告、食物、寒冷的气温、孤独感）在不同文化中是相似的。而且，跨文化怀旧具有三个关键功能：它提升社会联系（一种归属感或接受感）、生命意义（一种生活意义重大、有目的性和连贯性的感觉）和自我连续性（一种人之间的联系感）。过去和现在的自己）。此外，在不同的文化背景下，怀旧同样可以缓冲令人不适的心理状态（例如孤独）。例如，（1）孤独与怀旧正相关，或加剧怀旧；(2) 孤独感与不快乐或缺乏社会支持等不良后果相关或加剧；(3) 怀旧抑制了孤独感与不良后果之间的关系。此外，怀旧有助于一个人适应宿主文化。具体来说，（1）怀旧（vs. 控制）引起对宿主文化的积极文化适应；(2) 怀旧（相对于控制）放大了双文化身份整合；（3）积极的文化适应取向在文化怀旧对双文化身份整合的影响中起中介作用。最后，我们确定了文献中的漏洞并呼吁进行后续研究。