Food nostalgia and food comfort

The Role of Social Connectedness

Bibliographic Data

ID7149936
AuthorsChelsea A Reid (0000-0002-2935-4772, College of Charleston, corresponding author), Jeffrey D Green, Jeffrey Green (0000-0002-9070-3361, Virginia Commonwealth University), Tim Wildschut (0000-0002-6499-5487, University of Southampton), Constantine Sedikides (0000-0002-7563-306X, University of Southampton), Devin K McSween (College of Charleston), Sophie Buchmaier (College of Charleston)
Year2026
Volume40
Issue1
Pages217-225
Publication date2026-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCognition & Emotion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0269-9931 • E-ISSN: 1464-0600
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02699931.2025.2479170
PMID40088051
OpenAlexW4408481015
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited28

We were concerned with the link between nostalgia and comfort in food experiences. In Studies 1 and 2, participants visualised 12 foods (Study 1) or consumed 12 flavour samples (Study 2). Following each respective food experience, they rated each food's capacity to evoke nostalgia and comfort. In preregistered Studies 3 and 4, participants first visualised and wrote about eating either a personally nostalgic food or a regularly consumed food, and then indicated the extent to which the food experience increased nostalgia, social connectedness, and comfort. In cross-sectional Studies 1 and 2, nostalgia associated with food experiences was linked to more comfort, but this relation exhibited greater complexity in experimental Studies 3 and 4. In the latter two studies, nostalgia for food experiences elevated comfort by strengthening social connectedness

Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Social connectedness · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Nostalgia and Consumer Behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology