What’s New Is Old Again: Nostalgia and Retro-Styling in Response to Authenticity Threats

Abstract

Nostalgia is both a past- and self-referencing emotion that provides diverse psychological benefits. In this article, we explore retro-styling as a means for tapping into nostalgia. We define retro-styling as new objects that, through their design, reference the past. We propose that threats to authenticity lead to heightened preference for these retro-styled objects because they can create a sense of self-continuity by linking present consumption with past consumption. We first demonstrate that feelings of nostalgia lead to heightened feelings of authenticity via self-continuity. We then demonstrate that trait inauthenticity is positively correlated with preference for retro-styled objects and that this preference is mediated by nostalgia. Next, we show that when consumers’ state authenticity is threatened, they exhibit a heightened preference for retro-styled objects, provided that the object has past personal relevance, and that self-continuity mediates this preference.