The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide: State of the Science

Robison, M., et al. (2024).

Behavior Therapy, 55(6), 1158–1171.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2024.04.008

Abstract

In this state-of-the-science review, we summarize the key constructs and concepts within the interpersonal theory of suicide. The state of the scientific evidence regarding the theory is equivocal, and we explore the reasons for and some consequences of that equivocal state. Our particular philosophy of science includes criteria such as explanatory reach and pragmatic utility, among others, in addition to the important criterion of predictive validity. Across criteria, the interpersonal theory fares reasonably well, but it is also true that it struggles somewhat—as does every other theory of suicidality—with stringent versions of predictive validity. We explore in some depth the implications of the theory and its status regarding people who are minoritized. Some implications and future directions for research are also presented.

Highlights

• The full Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (ITPS) has yet to be empirically tested.

• However, the ITPS provides explanation, clinical utility, and predictive validity.

• The IPTS may be intensified by non-humanness, lack of agency, and discrimination.

• Minoritized people may benefit by integrating the IPTS and Minority Stress Theory.

Here are some thoughts:

The article reviews the empirical and theoretical foundations of the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (ITS), which seeks to explain suicidal ideation and behavior. The theory identifies four central constructs: thwarted belongingness (a perceived lack of meaningful social connections), perceived burdensomeness (the belief that one’s existence is a burden on others), hopelessness about these states improving, and the capability for suicide (fearlessness about death and high pain tolerance). While thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness contribute to suicidal ideation, the capability for suicide differentiates those who act on these thoughts.

The article highlights that perceived burdensomeness has the strongest link to suicidality, driven by a tragic misperception that others would be better off without the individual. Thwarted belongingness emphasizes subjective feelings of isolation rather than objective social circumstances. Hopelessness compounds these states by fostering a belief that they are permanent. The capability for suicide, often acquired through exposure to painful experiences or self-harm, explains why only some individuals transition from ideation to action.

Despite its clinical utility, testing ITS comprehensively remains challenging due to measurement limitations and the complexity of suicide. For example, constructs like perceived burdensomeness overlap with suicidal ideation in measurement tools, complicating empirical validation. Additionally, the theory’s applicability across diverse populations, including minoritized groups, requires further exploration.

Clinicians can use ITS to identify risk factors and tailor interventions—such as fostering social connections or addressing distorted beliefs about burdensomeness. However, its predictive validity is limited, underscoring the need for ongoing refinement and research into its constructs and applications.

Communitarianism, Properly Understood

Chang, Y. L. (2022).

Canadian Journal of Law & Jurisprudence, 35(1), 117–139.

doi:10.1017/cjlj.2021.21

Abstract

Communitarianism has been misunderstood. According to some of its proponents, it supports the ‘Asian values’ argument that rights are incompatible with communitarian Asia because it prioritises the collective interest over individual rights and interests. Similarly, its critics are sceptical of its normative appeal because they believe that communitarianism upholds the community’s wants and values at all costs. I dispel this misconception by providing an account of communitarianism, properly understood. It is premised on the idea that we are partially constituted by our communal attachments, or constitutive communities, which are a source of value to our lives. Given the partially constituted self, communitarianism advances the thin common good of inclusion. In this light, communitarianism, properly understood, is wholly compatible with rights, and is a potent source of solutions to controversial issues that plague liberal societies, such as the right of a religious minority to wear its religious garment in public.

Here are some thoughts:

The article addresses the misunderstanding of communitarianism, particularly the notion that it clashes with individual rights. It argues that communitarianism, when correctly interpreted, values both the individual and the community. The author suggests that individuals are partly formed by their community ties, which are a source of value. Therefore, communitarianism encourages the inclusion of individuals within their communities. The article concludes by illustrating how this understanding of communitarianism can safeguard individual rights, using the European Court of Human Rights' (ECtHR) decision on the French burqa ban as an example.

The Future of Decisions From Experience: Connecting Real-World Decision Problems to Cognitive Processes

Olschewski,  et al. (2024).

Perspectives on psychological science:

a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 

19(1), 82–102.

https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916231179138

Abstract

In many important real-world decision domains, such as finance, the environment, and health, behavior is strongly influenced by experience. Renewed interest in studying this influence led to important advancements in the understanding of these decisions from experience (DfE) in the last 20 years. Building on this literature, we suggest ways the standard experimental design should be extended to better approach important real-world DfE. These extensions include, for example, introducing more complex choice situations, delaying feedback, and including social interactions. When acting upon experiences in these richer and more complicated environments, extensive cognitive processes go into making a decision. Therefore, we argue for integrating cognitive processes more explicitly into experimental research in DfE. These cognitive processes include attention to and perception of numeric and nonnumeric experiences, the influence of episodic and semantic memory, and the mental models involved in learning processes. Understanding these basic cognitive processes can advance the modeling, understanding and prediction of DfE in the laboratory and in the real world. We highlight the potential of experimental research in DfE for theory integration across the behavioral, decision, and cognitive sciences. Furthermore, this research could lead to new methodology that better informs decision-making and policy interventions.

Here are some thoughts:

The article examines how people make choices based on experience rather than descriptions. Traditional research on decisions from experience (DfE) has relied on simplified experiments with immediate feedback, failing to capture real-world complexities such as delayed consequences, multiple options, and social influences.

The authors highlight the need to expand DfE research to better reflect real-world decision-making in finance, health, and environmental policy. Investment decisions are often shaped by personal experience rather than statistical summaries, climate-related choices involve long-term uncertainty, and healthcare decisions rely on non-numeric experiences such as pain or side effects.

To address these gaps, the article emphasizes incorporating cognitive processes—attention, perception, memory, and learning—into DfE studies. The authors propose more complex experimental designs, including delayed feedback and social interactions, to better understand how people process experience-based information.

Ultimately, they advocate for an interdisciplinary approach linking DfE research with cognitive science, neuroscience, and AI. By doing so, researchers can improve decision-making models and inform policies that help people make better choices in uncertain environments.

Patriotic morality: links between conventional patriotism, glorification, constructive patriotism, and moral values and decisions

Kołeczek, M., Sekerdej, M et al. (2025).

Self and Identity, 1–22.

https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2025.2470774

Abstract

To test the moral critique of patriotism, we explored patriots’ moral values and choices. Study 1 (N = 1,062) examined the links between three types of patriotism – conventional patriotism, glorification of the nation, and constructive patriotism – and moral values. Glorification was positively linked with binding values, but negatively with fairness. Conventional patriotism was positively linked with harm, loyalty, and authority and constructive patriotism with harm, fairness, and loyalty. Study 2 (N = 1,041) examined the links between patriotism and moral decisions. We presented participants with political dilemmas that required choosing one moral value over another. Glorification was linked with choosing binding over individualizing values. Conventional patriotism was linked with choosing authority over individualizing values and individualizing values over loyalty.

Here are some thoughts:

A study examined the moral dimensions of patriotism, finding that different types carry varying moral implications. Glorification, prioritizing loyalty and authority, correlates with decreased concern for fairness and harm prevention. Conventional patriotism relates to both loyalty and harm prevention without clear preference. Constructive patriotism uniquely associates with fairness. The study suggests uncritical, nationalistic patriotism can overshadow individual welfare and fair treatment.

The temporal relationships between defeat, entrapment and suicidal ideation: ecological momentary assessment study

van Ballegooijen, et al. (2022).

BJPsych Open, 8(4), e105.

doi:10.1192/bjo.2022.68

Abstract

Background

Psychological models of suicidal experiences are largely based on cross-sectional or long-term prospective data with follow-up intervals typically greater than 1 year. Recent time-series analyses suggest that these models may not account for fluctuations in suicidal thinking that occur within a period of hours and/or days.

Aims

We explored whether previously posited causal relationships between defeat, entrapment and suicidal ideation accounted for temporal associations between these experiences at small time intervals from 3 to 12 h.

Method

Participants (N = 51) completed an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study, comprising repeated assessments at semi-random time points up to six times per day for 1 week, resulting in 1852 completed questionnaires. Multilevel vector autoregression was used to calculate temporal associations between variables at different time intervals (i.e. 3 to 12 h between measurements).

Results

The results showed that entrapment severity was temporally associated with current and later suicidal ideation, consistently over these time intervals. Furthermore, entrapment had two-way temporal associations with defeat and suicidal ideation at time intervals of approximately 3 h. The residual and contemporaneous network revealed significant associations between all variables, of which the association between entrapment and defeat was the strongest.

Conclusions

Although entrapment is key in the pathways leading to suicidal ideation over time periods of months, our results suggest that entrapment may also account for the emergence of suicidal thoughts across time periods spanning a few hours.

A pdf is here.

Here are some thoughts.

​This study examined the short-term temporal relationships between feelings of defeat, entrapment, and suicidal ideation using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). The findings revealed that entrapment was consistently associated with both current and subsequent suicidal ideation over intervals ranging from 3 to 12 hours.

Entrapment refers to a psychological state where an individual feels trapped in an adverse situation that they cannot escape from, despite wanting to. It involves the perception of being stuck in life circumstances—internally (e.g., persistent thoughts, emotions, or internal conflicts) or externally (e.g., relationships, work, social situations)—with no viable way out.

Additionally, entrapment and defeat exhibited bidirectional relationships with suicidal ideation at approximately 3-hour intervals. These results suggest that entrapment may serve as a proximal indicator for the emergence of suicidal thoughts within hours. For practicing psychologists, this underscores the importance of closely monitoring clients' feelings of entrapment, as addressing these perceptions promptly could be crucial in preventing the rapid onset of suicidal ideation.

Navigating LLM Ethics: Advancements, Challenges, and Future Directions

Jiao, J., Afroogh, S., Xu, Y., & Phillips, C. (2024).

arXiv (Cornell University).

https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2406.18841

Abstract

This study addresses ethical issues surrounding Large Language Models (LLMs) within the field of artificial intelligence. It explores the common ethical challenges posed by both LLMs and other AI systems, such as privacy and fairness, as well as ethical challenges uniquely arising from LLMs. It highlights challenges such as hallucination, verifiable accountability, and decoding censorship complexity, which are unique to LLMs and distinct from those encountered in traditional AI systems. The study underscores the need to tackle these complexities to ensure accountability, reduce biases, and enhance transparency in the influential role that LLMs play in shaping information dissemination. It proposes mitigation strategies and future directions for LLM ethics, advocating for interdisciplinary collaboration. It recommends ethical frameworks tailored to specific domains and dynamic auditing systems adapted to diverse contexts. This roadmap aims to guide responsible development and integration of LLMs, envisioning a future where ethical considerations govern AI advancements in society.

Here are some thoughts:

This study examines the ethical issues surrounding Large Language Models (LLMs) within artificial intelligence, addressing both common ethical challenges shared with other AI systems, such as privacy and fairness, and the unique ethical challenges specific to LLMs.  The authors emphasize the distinct challenges posed by LLMs, including hallucination, verifiable accountability, and the complexities of decoding censorship.  The research underscores the importance of tackling these complexities to ensure accountability, reduce biases, and enhance transparency in how LLMs shape information dissemination.  It also proposes mitigation strategies and future directions for LLM ethics, advocating for interdisciplinary collaboration, ethical frameworks tailored to specific domains, and dynamic auditing systems adapted to diverse contexts, ultimately aiming to guide the responsible development and integration of LLMs. 

Social context during moral decision-making impacts males more than females

Pilcher, J. J., & Smith, P. D. (2024).

Frontiers in Psychology, 15.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1397069

Abstract

Moral judgments are often viewed as the outcome of affective and deliberative processes that could be impacted by social factors and individual characteristics. The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction between gender and social context on moral judgment. Participants included 315 undergraduate students (67.3% female). The participants completed the Moral Decision-Making Task while seated at row tables facing the front of the room or round tables facing other participants. The results indicated that males responded in a more utilitarian manner (harm one to save five) than females for moral impersonal (MI) and moral personal (MP) dilemmas regardless of seating arrangements. When seated at round tables, all participants were more likely to respond deontologically (cause no harm) to the moral impersonal dilemmas. In addition, we calculated a moral reasoning difference score for each participant as the difference between the MI and MP scores to represent additional reactivity due to the idea of taking direct action. The moral reasoning difference score was consistent for females but indicated a more deontological response from males at round tables and a more utilitarian response from males at row tables. These results suggest that males are more utilitarian than females and are more likely to be influenced by social context when responding to moral dilemmas. More broadly, the current results indicate that moral judgments are affected by social context particularly in males in ways that have not been incorporated in many models of moral decision making.

Here are some thoughts:

This research examined how social context and gender influence moral decision-making. They found that males tend to respond more utilitarian manner (choosing to harm one to save five) than females in moral dilemmas.  Additionally, social context affected moral judgments, with participants in a face-to-face setting more likely to respond in a more deontological way (choosing not to harm) in moral impersonal dilemmas.    

For practicing psychologists, this research highlights the importance of considering social context and gender when assessing and interpreting moral judgments. It suggests that these factors can significantly influence how individuals respond to moral dilemmas, which has implications for understanding behavior in various social settings.  

Emotional and Cognitive “Route” in Decision-Making Process: The Relationship between Executive Functions, Psychophysiological Correlates, Decisional Styles, and Personality

Crivelli, D., Acconito, C., & Balconi, M. (2024).

Brain sciences, 14(7), 734.

https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14070734

Abstract

Studies on decision-making have classically focused exclusively on its cognitive component. Recent research has shown that a further essential component of decisional processes is the emotional one. Indeed, the emotional route in decision-making plays a crucial role, especially in situations characterized by ambiguity, uncertainty, and risk. Despite that, individual differences concerning such components and their associations with individual traits, decisional styles, and psychophysiological profiles are still understudied. This pilot study aimed at investigating the relationship between individual propensity toward using an emotional or cognitive information-processing route in decision-making, EEG and autonomic correlates of the decisional performance as collected via wearable non-invasive devices, and individual personality and decisional traits. Participants completed a novel task based on realistic decisional scenarios while their physiological activity (EEG and autonomic indices) was monitored. Self-report questionnaires were used to collect data on personality traits, individual differences, and decisional styles. Data analyses highlighted two main findings. Firstly, different personality traits and decisional styles showed significant and specific correlations, with an individual propensity toward either emotional or cognitive information processing for decision-making. Secondly, task-related EEG and autonomic measures presented a specific and distinct correlation pattern with different decisional styles, maximization traits, and personality traits, suggesting different latent profiles.

Here are some thoughts:

This research provides valuable insights for psychologists by offering a more comprehensive understanding of decision-making, moving beyond a purely cognitive perspective to incorporate the crucial role of emotions and individual differences. It also highlights the importance of individual differences, emphasizing how personality traits and decisional styles influence how people process information and make choices. Furthermore, the research integrates psychological and physiological perspectives by combining self-report data with EEG and autonomic measures, providing a more holistic view of the decision-making process. Ultimately, the findings can inform interventions and applications in various fields, such as clinical psychology, organizational psychology, and consumer behavior, to better understand and support decision-making in different contexts.

The Constellation Model of Focus: Replacing Attention’s Spotlight With a Constellation

Ferketic, M. (2025)

Forthcoming.

Currently on academia.edu

Abstract

This paper introduces the Constellation Model of Focus, a novel phenomenological framework that redefines focus as a dynamic distribution of activated nodes across the internal and external fields of awareness. Unlike traditional models that conceptualize attention as a singular spotlight or a binary endogenous-exogenous mechanism, this model describes how awareness is concentrated as activated nodes across multiple points simultaneously and how those points interact in real time. We explore the activation, modulation, inhibition, and competition of nodes, as well as the mechanisms by which focus is shaped through impressive and expressive action. Finally, we examine how this model aligns with current neurological research on attentional networks and neuronal activation, reinforcing its potential for future empirical validation.

A pdf can be found here.

Here are some thoughts:

The article introduces the Constellation Model of Focus, a new way of understanding attention. This model suggests that focus isn't a single spotlight, but rather a pattern of "activated nodes" distributed across our internal and external awareness. These nodes represent where our awareness is concentrated and can shift and change constantly. The model also explores how these nodes are activated and influenced by both external stimuli and our own volitional control.   

This model can be valuable for psychologists because it provides a more nuanced understanding of attention. It moves beyond simpler ideas of attention as a spotlight and offers a framework to analyze the complexities of focus in various situations. This can help psychologists better assess and treat attention-related issues in clients, as well as develop more effective therapeutic techniques that account for the dynamic and distributed nature of attention.