Abstract
Collective nostalgia refers to longing for the way society used to be. We tested whether collective nostalgia is associated with ingroup-favoring collective action and whether this association is mediated by outgroup-directed anger and outgroup-directed contempt. We conducted an online study of Hong Kong residents (N = 111) during a large-scale democratic social movement, the Umbrella Movement, that took place in Hong Kong in 2014 in response to proposed electoral reforms by the Chinese government in Mainland China. Reported collective nostalgia for Hong Kong’s past was high in our sample and collective nostalgia predicted stronger involvement in ingroup-favoring collective action, and it did so indirectly via higher intensity of outgroup-directed anger (but not through outgroup-directed contempt). We argue that collective nostalgia has implications for strengthening ingroup-serving collective action, and we highlight the importance of arousal of group-based emotions in this process.
Highlights
Hong Kong is a former British colony and its transfer of sovereignty back to Mainland China occurred in 1997
We examined whether collective nostalgia is linked to collective actions that benefit Hongkongers and whether this link was explained by anger and contempt directed at Mainland China
We examine whether: (1) collective nostalgia is heightened when the ingroup perceives a deterioration of present circumstances compared to past ones, (2) collective nostalgia predicts outgroup-directed anger and outgroup-directed contempt, (3) collective nostalgia has direct behavioral implications for ingroup-favoring collective action, and (4) outgroup-directed anger and outgroup-directed contempt mediate the putative relation between collective nostalgia and ingroup-favoring collective action
Summary
Hong Kong is a former British colony and its transfer of sovereignty back to Mainland China occurred in 1997. Intragroup and intergroup dynamics are affected by the historical background and political differences between Hong Kong and Mainland China. Collective Nostalgia, Anger, and Collective Action elections for chief executive by 2017. Thousands of protesters demanded reforms to the electoral system and rejected the Chinese Government’s practice of vetting candidates to run in the election of Hong Kong’s chief executive. When Hongkongers (the ingroup) perceive a deterioration of present circumstances compared to past ones and Mainland China (the outgroup) appears to contribute to a dissatisfying present by imposing restrictions on political freedom and challenging core ingroup values, they are likely to experience collective nostalgia.
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