title: Right-frontal cortical asymmetry predicts increased proneness to nostalgia.
abstract: Nostalgia is often triggered by feelings-such as sadness, loneliness, or meaninglessness-that are typically associated with withdrawal motivation. Here, we examined whether a trait tendency to experience withdrawal motivation is associated with nostalgia proneness. Past work indicates that baseline right-frontal cortical asymmetry is a neural correlate of withdrawal-related motivation. We therefore hypothesized that higher baseline levels of right-frontal asymmetry would predict increased proneness to nostalgia. We assessed participants' baseline levels of frontal cortical activity using EEG. Results supported the hypothesis and demonstrated that the association between relative right-frontal asymmetry and increased nostalgia remained significant when controlling for the Big Five personality traits. Overall, these findings indicate that individuals with a stronger dispositional tendency to experience withdrawal-related motivation are more prone to nostalgia.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA.
authors: Alexa M
authors: AM
authors: Tullett
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors: Tim
authors: T
authors: Wildschut
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors: Constantine
authors: C
authors: Sedikides
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Inzlicht
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Approach and withdrawal; Emotion; Frontal EEG asymmetry; Motivation; Nostalgia