Using Social Psychology’s ABC Triad to Transcend Trauma: Improving on the Homeostatic State

Abstract

We examined the process by which individuals can transcend traumatic events, given the increased frequency of cataclysmic events such as global pandemics, food/shelter insecurity, risks to personal safety, and economic inequality duress. Trauma-informed approaches have begun to emerge but empirical evidence, methodological considerations, and theory have been scarce. In this review we (a) assess and quantify trauma outcome measures on qualitative and quantitative dimensions; (b) examine current research approaches’ use of the ABC Triad in social psychology, which considers affect (A), behaviors (B), cognitions (C), and perceptions (influenced by person/situation dynamics); (c) elaborate on a transcendence theory of trauma, showing how the theory meets scientific rigor of being predictive, testable, and falsifiable (Popper, 1949). Our analyses show that a value-added approach for trauma outcome measures is required in qualitative research, with quantitative and higher precision measures possible in pre/post designs, random assignment group comparisons, and comparable standards criterion such as norming. The transcendence trauma theory is assessed in a qualitative model fit approach using a case study, revealing good fit and showing that both descriptive and explanatory processes are needed to overcome trauma beyond recovery or a homeostatic state. Transcendence, it is shown, requires proactivity and oppositional interventions to the traditional coping processes of trauma. The multivariate nature of trauma is examined through person (dispositional) perceptions and situational influences, such as cultural orientation of self-focus (individualistic) and other-focus (collectivistic) support systems that can reduce the effects of trauma. Finally, we call for an increased effort by the scientific community, civic groups, and national governments to ameliorate the effects of trauma in vulnerable populations.