Jesper Alvarsson-Hjort

I am an adjunct lecturer affiliated with the Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and part of the Suicide and Mental Health Lab at National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental lll-Health. My academic is in psychology, but also more broadly in environmental studies, and statistical modeling, with a strong interdisciplinary approach to understanding human wellbeing in various contexts

More specifically my research themes focus on mental health, environmental psychology and statistical modelling. Three of my current project are investigating: 1) the effect of blue light lamps on emotion, thoughts, behavior for suicide prevention, within the project BLISP, 2) how proximal risk factors influence acute suicidality and individualized support during a suicidal crisis, in the project WAVES and lastly 3) to what extent cultural attitudes influence consumer willingness to reduce consumption of electricity during critical periods in the energy system, in the ECiLES project. 

In the last years I have moved away from frequentist models and are in coming projects focused only on Bayesian inference. Due to the mature nature of my research field, it is rare to not have informed priors, thus assuming no knowledge is rarely the best option. For some additional information about Bayes at KI please visit the KI connected Learn Bayes site. Modelling individual variation is another long-term interest of mine, an approach that has been theoretically developed for many years but rarely applied in psychological research. In the WAVES project we will use this approach in combination with Bayesian inference to provide a strong model-based approach to understand crisis development and provide individualized evidence-based support.

Over the past ten years, my teaching has spanned a wide range of areas within psychology. I’ve taught core courses such as Cognition, Developmental Psychology, Environmental Psychology, and Leadership, as well as applied psychology courses tailored for police students and teacher education programs. Additionally, I’ve delivered introductory psychology courses for students in non-psychology disciplines.

Statistics has been a recurring theme in my teaching—initially with a focus on frequentist methods, and more recently, where applicable, incorporating Bayesian approaches. I’ve led and developed several new courses, including Theoretical and Methodological Study (Psychology), Psychic Ill-Health (Police Studies) Child, Student, Learning (Teacher Education), and Leadership and Sustainability (Master’s Program in Sustainable Development)

In supervising students at undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral levels, I strive to be actively involved in their projects. My goal is to present challenges that are demanding enough to promote growth, while still allowing the project to progress. My pedagogical approach emphasizes the integration of theoretical knowledge with real-world application. Whether through coursework or supervision, I aim to provide students not only with academic understanding but also with practical insight—helping them develop the skills needed to do impressive things in professional settings.