#483 – Julia Shaw: Criminal Psychology of Murder, Serial Killers, Memory & Sex

What It Covers

Criminal psychologist Julia Shaw discusses the dark tetrad personality traits (psychopathy, sadism, narcissism, Machiavellianism), murder psychology, false memories, bisexuality research, and why evil exists on a continuum rather than as a binary label for understanding human behavior.

Key Questions Answered

• •Dark Tetrad Assessment: Psychopathy, sadism, narcissism, and Machiavellianism exist on continuums where everyone scores somewhere. High scores across all four traits correlate with harmful behavior, but subclinical levels are normal. Understanding these as spectrums rather than binary diagnoses prevents dehumanization and enables better intervention strategies for preventing violence.
• •Murder Recidivism Data: Homicide has only 1-3% recidivism rates, making it one of the lowest-risk crimes for repeat offenses. Most murders result from escalated arguments over trivial matters, not premeditated psychopathy. This suggests criminal justice systems prioritize retribution over prevention, as high-recidivism crimes like fraud and sexual violence receive comparatively lighter sentences.
• •Deception Detection Failure: Police officers and investigators perform no better than chance at detecting lies despite high confidence in their abilities. This overconfidence leads to wrongful convictions when interrogators misread innocent suspects. Relying on intuitive lie detection rather than evidence-based methods creates systematic errors in criminal investigations and relationship dynamics.
• •Murder Fantasy Prevalence: Approximately 70% of men and over 50% of women report fantasizing about killing someone. These rehearsal thoughts serve an adaptive function, allowing people to mentally simulate consequences and reinforce decisions not to act. Fleeting violent fantasies are psychologically normal; only persistent rumination about specific targets requires professional intervention.
• •Klein Sexual Orientation Grid: This assessment tool evaluates sexuality across multiple dimensions (identity, attraction, behavior, fantasies, lifestyle) in past, present, and ideal states. Discrepancies between present and ideal states identify psychological distress points. This framework helps people understand complex feelings about sexuality beyond simple labels, particularly useful for those experiencing identity confusion.