{"id":92107,"date":"2023-02-09T15:11:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-09T19:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=92107"},"modified":"2023-02-12T15:11:59","modified_gmt":"2023-02-12T19:11:59","slug":"psychology-behind-true-crime-obsession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-behind-true-crime-obsession\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychology Behind True Crime Obsession: Know the Red Flags"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What&#8217;s the psychology behind true crime obsession? What are the warning signs of being obsessed with true crime? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From anxiously awaiting updates on the college student murders in Idaho, to bingeing the latest episodes of <em>My Favorite Murder<\/em>, we love a true crime story. However, the psychology behind true crime obsession reveals the problems this obsession can cause and how to avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on to learn the consequences of true crime obsession and the psychology behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-are-we-attracted-to-true-crime\">Why Are We Attracted to True Crime?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>News sites have prominently featured headlines about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/11\/17\/us\/idaho-student-killings-timeline\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">murders of four Idaho college students<\/a>, as Americans devour updates on every detail of the case. Last year, the same happened with the case of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/09\/16\/us\/gabby-petito-timeline-missing-case\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gabby Petito<\/a>, who was killed by her boyfriend Brian Laundrie. Meanwhile, the murder cases documented in Netflix\u2019s <em>Making a Murderer<\/em> and the <em>Serial <\/em>podcast have enjoyed explosive popularity, and <em>Forensic Files II<\/em> is HLN network\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com\/2020\/05\/12\/forensic-files-ii-hlns-highest-rated-original-series-ever-is-renewed-for-two-seasons-with-32-episodes\/#:~:text=Forensic%20Files%20II%20is%20HLN's,Oxygen)%20In%20its%20time%20period.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">highest-rated show ever<\/a>. Why are we so obsessed with true crime stories and what&#8217;s the psychology behind true crime obsession?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our obsession with true crime cases may be related to a few factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>They appeal to our natural need to make sense of the world, especially to understand the potential threats in our environments.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>They give us the opportunity to process our fears in a safe setting.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>We want to see bad people brought to justice, so we\u2019re invested in the outcome.\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article we\u2019ll take a look at each of these in more depth, discussing the psychology behind true crime obsession. We\u2019ll then explain the effects this obsession might have on us, as well as on society and the criminal investigation of the cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-true-crime-stories-help-us-make-sense-of-the-world\">True Crime Stories Help Us Make Sense of the World<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The field of evolutionary psychology is concerned with explaining how the ways we think and behave today are related to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/protective-instinct\/\">survival instincts<\/a> we developed evolutionarily. In the case of our obsession with true crime, the field of psychology explains that <strong>we feel driven to understand the minds and motives of killers because <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/the-human-body\/why-are-we-so-obsessed-with-true-crime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>we\u2019re wired to try to make sense of threats in our environments<\/strong><\/a>. We want to figure out what would make people do things that would be unthinkable to us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, beyond just a natural drive to make sense of threats, studying the details of violent crime cases may make us feel like we\u2019d have a better idea of what to do if we were ever in that situation. So,<strong> following these cases gives our brains a rehearsal for the possibility of being a victim of a crime at some point.<\/strong> This overlaps with the next factor, our need to process the fear that comes with that possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-true-crime-stories-help-us-process-our-fear\">True Crime Stories Help Us Process Our Fear<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Statistics suggest that <a href=\"https:\/\/news.illinois.edu\/view\/6367\/205718#:~:text=Why%20are%20women%20more%20drawn,escape%20from%20a%20potential%20attacker.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">women tend to be more interested in the true crime genre than men<\/a>. This may give us more insight into why specific types of crimes tend to be the most alluring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research shows that the crimes that receive the most attention are those involving a male killer of female victims, and women are most drawn to cases where the victim is similar to themselves. The conclusion in psychology is that, in addition to the reason explained above (rehearsing the scenario), an obsession with following a true crime story may be a way for women to feel the fear associated with that threat in a safe setting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we read about or watch these stories, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/4172673\/true-crime-allure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">we experience a rush of adrenaline<\/a> as we imagine being in the situation. And <strong>when we can experience that physiological reaction while knowing we\u2019re safe, we get the chance to subconsciously process those deep fears.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-true-crime-stories-are-opportunities-for-justice\">True Crime Stories Are Opportunities for Justice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, in addition to understanding threats and processing fears,<strong> psychology reveals that our obsession with true crime appeals to our desire to see justice served. <\/strong>We want a tragedy with closure, where the perpetrator is punished. This factor is what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/true-crime-shows-social-justice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">turns some consumers of true crime stories into internet sleuths and activists.<\/a> And this also means we\u2019re invested in ensuring the <em>right <\/em>person is convicted for these crimes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This appeal to justice is also likely what drives \u201cinternet sleuthing\u201d\u2014an attempt by citizens to undertake their own online detective work to try to solve crimes. This sleuthing can receive widespread exposure and attention via social <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/internet-platform\/\">media platforms<\/a>, and in some cases it\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pumphreylawfirm.com\/blog\/internet-sleuths-and-true-crime-helpful-or-hurtful-to-cases\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">actually helped solve crimes<\/a>. But it can also cause serious problems, as we\u2019ll see in the next section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-problems-can-true-crime-obsession-cause\">What Problems Can True Crime Obsession Cause?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the age of technology and media saturation, our interests can easily turn into obsessions. Today we\u2019re exposed to stories of violent crime exponentially more than people were in the past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Potentially, there are two major issues with a true crime obsession:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The cases and criminal justice process can be affected, especially when we\u2019re fixated on a crime that\u2019s under investigation.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>We can be affected psychologically, triggering stress and anxiety and skewing our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/perception-of-the-world\/\">perception of the world<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-it-can-affect-the-criminal-case\">It Can Affect the Criminal Case<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>As mentioned in the previous section,<strong> internet sleuthing can cause serious issues with ongoing investigations, both for the investigators and for innocent bystanders.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the recent Idaho murder case, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/culture\/archive\/2023\/01\/idaho-murders-true-crime-theories-reddit-facebook\/672797\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TikTok fueled an online witch hunt.<\/a> Amateur sleuths posted accusations pointing the finger at the surviving roommates, a food truck owner, and a professor at the university where the victims were students. Many of these videos have racked up over a million views, with posters competing for clicks by posting the wildest theories. This makes the victims of a tragedy into nothing more than characters in an entertaining story, and it could lead to very real dangerous situations for those accused. The Moscow, Idaho police department became concerned about how this could interfere with their investigation and had to establish a \u201crumor control\u201d page on their website.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-it-can-affect-our-mental-health\">It Can Affect Our Mental Health&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, according to psychology, <a href=\"https:\/\/health.clevelandclinic.org\/psychological-effects-of-watching-crime-shows\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">overconsumption or obsession with true crime can affect our mental health<\/a> by giving us an exaggerated sense of how common violent crime is, and of the likelihood of being the victim of one. Our fear can then become disproportionate to our risk. <strong>Having too much exposure to these stories can cause stress, anxiety, nightmares, and paranoia. <\/strong>Real crime-solving professionals have training in mental health to avoid these issues, and they still face them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, if you enjoy learning about crime through following these stories, just be on the lookout for any signs that it could be negatively affecting your mental health, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>You find yourself dwelling on it. You\u2019re thinking about the case hours after you read about it, and compulsively need to check in for updates.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>You find yourself fearful of going out, or of being home alone. You may repeatedly check that your doors are locked in the evenings.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>You have signs of anxiety regularly, like rapid heartbeat, trouble sleeping, and constant tension.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you experience any of these symptoms, consider whether they may be resulting from your true crime consumption, and take breaks. True crime may be an interest best pursued in moderation.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What&#8217;s the psychology behind true crime obsession? What are the warning signs of being obsessed with true crime? From anxiously awaiting updates on the college student murders in Idaho, to bingeing the latest episodes of My Favorite Murder, we love a true crime story. However, the psychology behind true crime obsession reveals the problems this obsession can cause and how to avoid them. Read on to learn the consequences of true crime obsession and the psychology behind it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":92115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,24],"tags":[727],"class_list":["post-92107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-society","tag-articles","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Psychology Behind True Crime Obsession: Know the Red Flags - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What&#039;s the psychology behind true crime obsession? 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