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Are there any extreme RTs
for individual words? Do you see any differences on particular critical words that might indicate guilt?
Conclusion regarding reaction times:
Verdict
I believe the guilty person is
Using a scale from 0—100 where: 0 = no confidence,
5 = moderate confidence, and
10 = complete confidence
My confidence in this judgment is
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SUICIDE: INTENTIONS AND ACTS
OBJECTIVES
1. To give students the opportunity to share experiences they or their friends might have had with
attempted suicide.
2. To discuss what the criteria are for considering an act suicidal.
3. To review many of the facts and commonly held misconceptions about suicide so that students are
better able to detect and react to crises involving suicide.
OVERVIEW
The age group that has recently shown the sharpest increase in attempted suicide is 18- and 24-years-old
college-aged people. Suicide now ranks second in leading causes of death for this age group, right behind
automobile accidents. Because of the high incidence of suicide among college students, this section typically
elicits great interest from many of the students, and sometimes powerful emotions (see Pitfalls to Avoid). In
this section, we will:
1. Begin by going around the room and sharing any close brushes students have had with suicide,
either personally or with another person who was experiencing difficulties.
2. Discuss definitions students have for suicide and the discrepancies between these definitions and
some of the other factors that can complicate judgments of suicide.
3. Take the Suicide Quiz (provided at the end of this section).
4. Read the 10 items and take a “hand count” of how many students believe each item is true or false.
5. Discuss statistics on suicide rates, including differences according to gender, age, race,
socioeconomic status, and other variables. At a minimum, this discussion will include the 10 items
that comprise the Suicide Quiz.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Throughout the ages, people have held very different views of suicide. The early Greeks often considered
suicide to be a natural solution to unhappy situations. The Romans took a conditional position; suicide
induced by pain, sickness or grief was exempt from punishment, whereas suicide “without cause” was
unpardonable, especially when interests of the state were involved. The advent of Christianity signaled a
departure from past laws concerning suicide. In the fourth century, St. Augustine placed suicide in a moral
framework and condemned it as a grievous sin. Consequently, suicide became rare in the Middle Ages.
The Renaissance brought a reconsideration of suicide as a solution to life’s hardships. Indeed,
Shakespeare’s eight tragedies contain fourteen suicides! Gradually suicide became a topic of debate, and in
1777 the philosopher David Hume stated that suicide does not do society any harm—the individual merely
ceases to do good. Still, it took until 1961 for England to repeal its law making attempted suicide a crime,
and until June 1972 for Canada. The United States inherited its law from England, and to this day it is
illegal to attempt suicide in seven states, while in eighteen states, aiding and abetting suicide is a crime.
PROCEDURE
Materials
The Suicide Quiz.
Optional: Calculator for computing percentage of students who get each item correct.
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Subjects
Any number, but optimal with 10—25 students.
Time Required for Research
10—20 minutes for initial discussion and 5—10 minutes for first administration of the quiz.
Time Required for Discussion
10—20 minutes for a discussion of quiz material, 5—10 minutes for second administration of the Suicide
Quiz, and 5 minutes for a wrap-up to the section.
Method
1. This section begins with students sharing and experiences they have had with suicide, personally
or with another person who was having trouble. We strongly recommend excusing any students
who feel that the topic of suicide is too emotional for them to discuss. Few students will leave, but it
is important that they have that option available.
2. Discuss differing definitions students have for suicide. What are the discrepancies between these
definitions?