New study on trigger warnings

[cara susanna]

The Latest Study on Trigger Warnings Finally Convinced Me They’re Not Worth It

That doesn’t mean people’s requests to be treated with care can’t be heeded.

slate.com

I'm seeing a lot of discussions about this article on social media. Many people, for instance, are upset and feel the study is not valid because it did not provide the option to avoid the material. I'd love to hear thoughts from fellow psychology people, especially trauma folks.

Btw, the actual preprint of the paper can be found here - https://osf.io/axn6z/

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[WisNeuro]

It's an Mturk study, so that is limiting, but not really much different from most undergrad population studies that dominate research. But, it pretty much lines up with all of the other research on this, as well as many of our theoretical models of anxiety and PTSD. I imagine the people that are upset and question the validity of the study are very much proponents of trigger warnings for....reasons that have no empirical basis.

 

[LadyHalcyon]

It's an Mturk study, so that is limiting, but not really much different from most undergrad population studies that dominate research. But, it pretty much lines up with all of the other research on this, as well as many of our theoretical models of anxiety and PTSD. I imagine the people that are upset and question the validity of the study are very much proponents of trigger warnings for....reasons that have no empirical basis.

Maybe that was the intent. It doesn't fit with the current cultural climate, so lets decimate it! Also, this research can be used by social media/technology to further divide. It is much more difficult to maintain power (and money) when people feel unified.

 

[WisNeuro]

Any research can be used to divide if it is misinterpreted and presented in a misleading way. The real, underlying point here is that the trigger warnings potentially reinforce the anxiety and make it more entrenched. Something anyone with experience in the trauma field could have predicted in a second.

 

[DynamicDidactic]

It seems that, in general, people concentrate on individual empirical results rather that the body of theoretical and empirical evidence. So far, I haven't seen a single study that show trigger warnings reduce anxiety in the long term and the theoretical evidence for trigger warnings does not line up with the extant knowledge base. Of course, Bob and Sally from twitter already made their decisions on what is true or not.

 

[cara susanna]

I agree. What I'm finding funny is that, when we originally raised concerns about trigger warnings functioning as avoidance, people said "no, it isn't, it's just letting them have a head's up so they can prepare themselves." Now they're saying that the avoidance is the most important part. Which, yeah, of course you'll experience less short-term distress if you avoid. That doesn't need to be studied.

FWIW, the author addresses some of the criticism towards his study in his Twitter thread. I think that he does a great job rebuking some of their arguments using empirical evidence and trauma theory. Granted, some are still displeased, but as you all said that's to be expected. To me he comes across as far more patient than a lot of us might be in that situation.

 

[WisNeuro]

This guy does have a lot of patience. 90% of the people responding to him are clearly f#cking idiots.

 

[PsyDr]

Why didn’t I get a trigger warning on this?!

I was emotionally detached. I mean, I still am, but I was too.

 

[cara susanna]

Here's some concerns about the study (or at least its conclusions) from psychologists who are well versed in exposure and trauma theory:





Basically, the question is: is incidental exposure still helpful? Is preemptive avoidance worse than escape avoidance? I feel like with the research showing inhibitive learning, not habituation, as the key mechanism behind the effectiveness of exposure, perhaps even incidental exposure could be helpful if the person chooses to stay and tolerate their distress. There's also the concern that trigger warnings send the message that trauma reminders are in themselves traumatic and/or dangerous.

 

[DynamicDidactic]

I wasn't particularly swayed by the comments. Exposure is exposure, that is the putative therapeutic mechanism for reduction in anxiety. The data indicates that trigger warnings don't help and may harm but the second portion is going a little beyond the data (and difficult to actually study).

This is also one reason I am not on twitter.

 

[notfullyfathomd]

I'm a little late to the party on this one, but thanks for linking to twitter conversations. I'm curious about releasing the article before it has been accepted at a journal. Is this becoming common practice? My gut reaction is against this generally but I also think that it allows more people to access to material that will probably be behind a paywall once it is published.

 

[DynamicDidactic]

I'm curious about releasing the article before it has been accepted at a journal. Is this becoming common practice? My gut reaction is against this generally but I also think that it allows more people to access to material that will probably be behind a paywall once it is published.

My experience is that this is a relatively new phenomenon, perhaps that past year or so. I find it unnecessary. One can do the same with a per-publication version instead.

 

[cara susanna]

Yeah, I think releasing the final print is better. This study has now been in the media before it's even gone through peer review, and that is a problem. Although, trigger warnings are definitely a case of the cart before the horse science-wise, so I do understand the author feeling a need to release it sooner. I just don't think that it's overall good practice.

 

[FlowRate]

The problem with trigger warnings is that they're part of a larger cultural belief system and integrate with all sorts of SJW themes. Hence why you see people referring to their "lived experience" and saying the author is "ablesplaining." For such people, identity factors mediate truth, not science.