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> The results of around a dozen psychological studies, published between 2018 and 2021, are remarkably consistent, and they differ from conventional wisdom: the

> The results of around a dozen psychological studies, published between 2018 and 2021, are remarkably consistent, and they differ from conventional wisdom: they find that trigger warnings do not seem to lessen negative reactions to disturbing material in students, trauma survivors, or those diagnosed with P.T.S.D. Indeed, some studies suggest that the opposite may be true. The first one, conducted at Harvard by Benjamin Bellet, a Ph.D. candidate, Payton Jones, who completed his Ph.D. in 2021, and Richard McNally, a psychology professor and the author of “Remembering Trauma,” found that, among people who said they believe that words can cause harm, those who received trigger warnings reported greater anxiety in response to disturbing literary passages than those who did not. (The study found that, among those who do not strongly believe words can cause harm, trigger warnings did not significantly increase anxiety.) Most of the flurry of studies that followed found that trigger warnings had no meaningful effect, but two of them found that individuals who received trigger warnings experienced more distress than those who did not. Yet another study suggested that trigger warnings may prolong the distress of negative memories. A large study by Jones, Bellet, and McNally found that trigger warnings reinforced the belief on the part of trauma survivors that trauma was central (rather than incidental or peripheral) to their identity. The reason that effect may be concerning is that trauma researchers have previously established that a belief that trauma is central to one’s identity predicts more severe P.T.S.D.; Bellet called this “one of the most well documented relationships in traumatology.” The perverse consequence of trigger warnings, then, may be to harm the people they are intended to protect.

tapan_jk 5y ago
I always thought that the warning lets one walk away before they get triggered. Of course, this would not be possible in every situation, but if I am watching news and see a warning for e.g., I can stop watching. Edit: there are many other comments which showed up just this minute which say the same thing. Hence, I just repeated what others seem to concur with too.
taurath 5y ago
Slightly OT re trigger warnings, but Richard McNally is on one particular side of a very active debate within trauma-focused psychology, especially around memory repression. "Remembering Trauma" makes some very large conclusions that are by no means accepted widely. Not that he's a demagogue, but I think there's not really a full accepted understanding of how memory works or doesn't work on traumatized people's brains. A large segment of clinicians absolutely do work off the idea that memories are repressed, though not in the "amnesia" sense, but rather more as something pushed deep down, or instinctively avoided and less accessible. > The perverse consequence of trigger warnings, then, may be to harm the people they are intended to protect. Personal opinion as someone who's dealt with trauma - a trigger warning reminds me of trauma in general, but its absolutely better than entering into say a piece of fiction with a prominent traumatic scene I'd identify with, with no warning. One can make me feel slightly worse, one can put me in a full on flashback. OTOH, there's not really a reasonable line that's been developed yet as to what deserves TWs and what doesn't, in which contexts. If you allow for it in all situations where someone could possibly benefit from it then you're not really free to do very much. In the context of say a trauma forum though it makes much more sense to try to tag as much as you can. Finally this stuff isn't new. We have the MPAA making ratings explicitly around movies about the themes involved. Broadcast media isn't allowed to curse because a lot of the audience can't handle it. TV News has said "Warning, this may be tough to watch" for decades.

tapan_jk 5y ago

I always thought that the warning lets one walk away before they get triggered. Of course, this would not be possible in every situation, but if I am watching news and see a warning for e.g., I can stop watching. Edit: there are many other comments which showed up just this minute which say the same thing. Hence, I just repeated what others seem to concur with too.

taurath 5y ago

Slightly OT re trigger warnings, but Richard McNally is on one particular side of a very active debate within trauma-focused psychology, especially around memory repression. "Remembering Trauma" makes some very large conclusions that are by no means accepted widely. Not that he's a demagogue, but I think there's not really a full accepted understanding of how memory works or doesn't work on traumatized people's brains. A large segment of clinicians absolutely do work off the idea that memories are repressed, though not in the "amnesia" sense, but rather more as something pushed deep down, or instinctively avoided and less accessible. > The perverse consequence of trigger warnings, then, may be to harm the people they are intended to protect. Personal opinion as someone who's dealt with trauma - a trigger warning reminds me of trauma in general, but its absolutely better than entering into say a piece of fiction with a prominent traumatic scene I'd identify with, with no warning. One can make me feel slightly worse, one can put me in a full on flashback. OTOH, there's not really a reasonable line that's been developed yet as to what deserves TWs and what doesn't, in which contexts. If you allow for it in all situations where someone could possibly benefit from it then you're not really free to do very much. In the context of say a trauma forum though it makes much more sense to try to tag as much as you can. Finally this stuff isn't new. We have the MPAA making ratings explicitly around movies about the themes involved. Broadcast media isn't allowed to curse because a lot of the audience can't handle it. TV News has said "Warning, this may be tough to watch" for decades.