Nostalgia proneness and reduced prejudice

•Nostalgia proneness is negatively associated with motivation to control prejudice.•Motivation to control prejudice is associated with reduced prejudice expression.•Empathy mediates the link between nostalgia proneness and prejudice reduction.

We examined the association between nostalgia proneness and prejudice. In four correlational studies, we assessed nostalgia proneness, empathy, motivation to control prejudiced reactions, and blatant as well as subtle prejudice expression. The more prone to nostalgia participants were, the more likely they were to be motivated to control prejudice against an outgroup (African-Americans; Studies 1-4). Further, motivation to control prejudice mediated the relation between nostalgia proneness and reduced blatant/subtle prejudice expression (Studies 2-4). Finally, the stronger motivation to control prejudice and subsequent prejudice expression reduction was mediated by empathy that accompanied higher levels of nostalgia proneness (Studies 3-4). Nostalgia has implications for intergroup perception, and specifically prejudicial attitudes.