Trait nostalgia: Four scales and a recommendation

Abstract

We review four established scales for measuring individual differences in trait-level nostalgia: the Nostalgia Inventory, the Southampton Nostalgia Scale, the Nostalgia Prototype Scale, and the Personal Inventory of Nostalgic Experiences. To examine their convergent validity, we re-analyzed data from a published study in which all four scales were administered simultaneously. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that a one-factor model accurately described the interrelations among the four scales, and supported full metric and partial scalar invariance across U.S. and Chinese samples. When measuring trait nostalgia, we recommend that researchers also consider potential confounders. Specifically, we discuss the importance of controlling for other ways in which individuals habitually reflect on their past, including brooding rumination and upward self-referent counterfactual thinking.

Keywords: Confounders; Convergent validity; Measurement; Nostalgia; Statistical control.