Finding the good in the bad: nostalgic recollections of the Covid-19 pandemic

Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, is experienced across cultures and is often linked to positive outcomes. The question of whether and how people reflect nostalgically upon positive moments within broadly negative contexts, however, remains underexplored. Accordingly, in three studies, we examined nostalgic memories and feelings for the Covid-19 lockdowns. Study 1 demonstrated that participants’ positive memories from this troublesome period contained nostalgic content and induced nostalgic feelings. A qualitative analysis of nostalgic memories collected in Study 2 identified social connection with close others as a central theme. Finally, Study 3 provided some support for the role of social connection with close others in accounting for the relationship between recalling positive (vs. valence-unspecified) lockdown memories and nostalgic feelings, although evidence for this indirect effect was not consistent across all analyses. These findings highlight nostalgia’s potential to foster emotional resilience and identify silver linings following challenging life events when prompted.