We examine the role of social disconnectedness in the preference for historical nostalgia. This relates to the recent surge in nostalgic consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic when people are socially disconnected. In three studies, social disconnectedness is manipulated and measured. Consistently, we find that social disconnectedness contributes to consumers’ preferences for nostalgia. The social-disconnectedness effect is moderated by two factors. First, consumers with higher propensity to savor the past are more likely to exhibit the social-disconnectedness effect. Second, the effect depends on the extent to which consumers culturally identify with the nostalgia. The nostalgic appeal is more effective when consumers connect with the culture represented by the nostalgia. Further, state nostalgia mediates the effect of nostalgic appeal on preference for hospitality consumption among consumers high in trait savor the past. These findings identify a social perspective in understanding nostalgia preference and suggest ways to practitioners when nostalgic appeal works best.

我们研究了社会脱节在对历史怀旧的偏好中的作用。这与最近在 COVID-19 大流行期间人们与社会脱节时怀旧消费激增有关。在三项研究中，社会脱节被操纵和衡量。一致地，我们发现社会脱节有助于消费者对怀旧的偏好。社会脱节效应受两个因素的影响。首先，更倾向于品味过去的消费者更容易表现出社会脱节效应。其次，效果取决于消费者对怀旧的文化认同程度。当消费者与怀旧所代表的文化建立联系时，怀旧的吸引力会更加有效。更远，状态怀旧调节了怀旧吸引力对高品味过去的消费者的热情好客消费偏好的影响。这些发现确定了理解怀旧偏好的社会视角，并在怀旧吸引力最有效时向从业者提出了建议。