trigger warnings

[mellowtigger]

The day after my first use (I think?) of a cautionary warning, a pre-print study comes out saying that such warnings are basically pointless... or "inert", as they note.

We present the results of a meta-analysis of all empirical studies on the effects of these warnings. Overall, we found that warnings have no effect on affective responses to negative material nor on educational outcomes (i.e., comprehension). However, warnings reliably increase anticipatory affect. Findings on avoidance were mixed, suggesting either that warnings have no effect on engagement with material, or that they increase engagement with negative material under specific circumstances. Limitations and implications for policy and therapeutic practice are discussed.

This meta-analytic review suggests that trigger warnings–statements that alert viewers to material containing distressing themes related to past experiences–do not help people to: reduce the negative emotions felt when viewing material, avoid potentially distressing material, or improve the learning/understanding of that material. However, trigger warnings make people feel anxious prior to viewing material. Overall, results suggest that trigger warnings in their current form are not beneficial, and may instead lead to a risk of emotional harm.
- https://osf.io/qav9m/

That was my gut feeling on the matter already (hence my usual lack of them), but it'll be interesting to see how the study is reviewed.  And now I'm back to wondering when the rest of humanity will be ready for technological telepathy.

Comments

[mellowtigger]

Interesting! Thanks for letting me know. That's a Dreamwidth bug, I think. The 17th is probably when I first created them. I altered the date when I made them finally Public. I'll have to remember that problem, and create brand new items instead of altering dates on my hidden draft posts. :/