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Sentimentality

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Synonyms

High emotionality; Nostalgia; Tenderness

Definition

Sentimentality is the state or condition of experiencing high emotionality when thinking about a person, place, time, or experience. This concept is commonly associated with feelings such as love, sadness, and tenderness. Sentimentality can be thought of as a state in that most people have experiences from time to time that make them feel sentimental. However, sentimentality is also trait-like. That is, individuals differ in the extent to which they tend to be sentimental. Some people are more chronically prone to sentimental feelings whereas other feel sentimental infrequently.

Introduction

Sentimentality is regarded as a mostly positive trait that contributes to interpersonal warmth, as well as success in connecting with others. However, more broadly sentimentality is an adaptive behavioral tendency that improves well-being and helps people cope with psychological threats. The current entry begins by discussing...

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References

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Correspondence to Andrew A. Abeyta .

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

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Abeyta, A.A., Routledge, C. (2016). Sentimentality. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1110-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1110-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

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