Students’ psychophysiological reactivity to trigger warnings

Abstract

Trigger warnings are defined as alerts presented before media to warn that the content may represent a trauma reminder. Their usefulness in higher education has been at the center of debate. While originally created to help individuals with posttraumatic stress symptoms decide whether or not to engage with material that could elicit, or “trigger” symptoms, trigger warnings have been implicated in perpetuating the avoidant behaviors that maintain the posttraumatic stress syndrome. Much of the literature thus far describes trigger warnings as creating a nocebo effect (fostering negative expectations), but these studies use only self-report measures. The present study aimed to build upon the nocebo hypothesis to assess psychophysiological responses (heart rate, respiration rate, skin conductance) to the phrase “trigger warning” as compared to alternative warning phrases and to examine whether PTSD symptoms or receptivity of trigger warnings influence this reactivity. Students (N = 106) were randomly assigned to see either the phrase “trigger warning” a PG-13 movie rating, or no warning before watching a movie clip. Viewing the trigger warning increased heart rate, respiration rate, and skin conductance measures more than viewing either the PG-13 or control stimuli. Moreover, posttraumatic stress symptoms and receptivity towards trigger warnings did not account for the relationship between warning exposure and reactivity. Ideas for future research and future trigger warning deployment are discussed.