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Below is some important food for thought concerning trigger warnings...
Victoria Bridgland is a researcher who has extensively studied the effects of trigger warnings, particularly their emotional and behavioural impacts. Her work, including a comprehensive meta-analysis, provides significant insights into how trigger warnings function and their efficacy.
Key Findings from Victoria Bridgland’s Research on Trigger Warnings
1. Definition and Purpose of Trigger Warnings
Trigger warnings (also called content warnings or content notes) are alerts intended to prepare individuals for upcoming content that may be distressing or related to past negative experiences, such as trauma. The goal is to help people emotionally prepare or avoid distressing material altogether4.
2. Emotional Effects and Anticipatory Anxiety
Bridgland’s research shows that trigger warnings do not reduce distress or negative emotional reactions once the content is viewed. Instead, they reliably increase anticipatory anxiety-people feel more anxious before seeing the content, but this does not translate into less distress afterward2349. This anticipatory anxiety is not a form of mental preparation to cope but rather an increase in anxious anticipation.
3. Impact on Avoidance Behavior
Contrary to the common assumption that trigger warnings lead to avoidance of distressing content, Bridgland’s findings indicate that they rarely cause people to avoid the content. In some cases, trigger warnings may actually increase the likelihood of engaging with the content, a phenomenon known as the "forbidden fruit effect" or psychological reactance, where restricting access makes the content more appealing245.
4. Effect on Learning and Comprehension
Her meta-analysis found no significant effect of trigger warnings on educational outcomes or comprehension of the material. Trigger warnings neither improve nor impair learning from the content that follows34.
5. Potential Harms and Psychological Implications
Bridgland’s work suggests that trigger warnings might inadvertently cause harm by fostering increased anxiety before exposure and possibly reinforcing a view of trauma survivors as uniquely vulnerable. This could undermine resilience and encourage avoidance of emotional experiences, which is counterproductive to mental health, especially in conditions like PTSD where avoidance maintains the disorder6.
6. Application in Social Media and Broader Contexts
Her research also extends to the context of social media, where trigger warnings do not effectively prevent people from consuming negative content online, highlighting limitations in their practical use for over a billion users on platforms like Instagram2.
Summary
Victoria Bridgland’s research provides strong empirical evidence that:
- Trigger warnings increase anticipatory anxiety rather than reduce distress.
- They do not significantly change emotional reactions once the content is viewed.
- They rarely lead to avoidance and may sometimes increase curiosity or engagement with distressing content.
- They do not affect learning outcomes.
- They may have unintended negative consequences, such as reinforcing trauma vulnerability and undermining emotional resilience.
Her findings challenge the common assumptions about the protective role of trigger warnings and suggest the need for developing more effective strategies to support individuals facing potentially distressing content123456.
This summary is based on Victoria Bridgland’s thesis, meta-analyses, and interviews published through Flinders University and psychological science sources in 2023-2024.