Can thinking about your ex ever have a positive effect? That’s what researchers from the University of Kansas wanted to find out. To test their query, they rounded up participants and had them reflect on nostalgic memories of their exes across three different studies.
And based on their results, a little nostalgia for your ex can actually improve your current relationship. That’s right—in all three studies, the researchers found that thinking about nostalgic memories of ex-partners “increased the perception of current relationship quality,” compared to the control group.
Further, the study authors note, thinking of relationships past can even enhance your motivation to keep your current romantic relationship alive and well.
And if that weren’t enough, their final finding was that the participants’ perceptions of their own self-growth likely influenced how they felt when thinking about an ex. Namely, when participants reflected on their past relationships, they often simultaneously reflected on how much they’d grown since the relationship—which could explain why they subsequently viewed their current relationship (and motivation for that relationship) in an improved light.
