The Michael Shermer Show Can You Spot a Killer? The Dangerous Fantasy of Criminal Profiling
In this engaging discussion, Rachel Corbett, a features writer and author known for her work on crime and culture, explores the mythos surrounding criminal profiling. She reveals how our desire for neat explanations can lead us astray, showcasing the failures of profiling through studies and real-life cases. Corbett connects historical roots, the allure of true crime, and the unsettling truth behind normal-looking perpetrators. The conversation also touches on the role of randomness in violence and the ethical dilemmas of past psychological experiments.
01:14:10
Personal Shock That Sparked The Investigation
- Rachel Corbett recounts a childhood shock when her mother’s former partner later murdered his girlfriend despite appearing gentle to her as a child.
- That personal mystery sparked her investigation into profiling and doubt about neat explanations for violent acts.
Serial-Killer Epidemic Was Largely Media Hype
- The perceived serial-killer epidemic was inflated by media attention, not by a huge underlying increase in offenders.
- Corbett notes 1970s FBI estimates overstated annual serial-killer victims by roughly tenfold.
Avoid Overreliance On Unvalidated Typologies
- Treat behavioral classifications cautiously and avoid letting police act as amateur psychiatrists.
- Corbett warns against overreaching typologies like organized/disorganized that lack scientific support.
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Intro
00:00 • 1min
Corbett's personal connection to profiling
01:24 • 4min
Limits of profiling and its effectiveness
04:56 • 3min
Factors that shape violent behavior
07:29 • 5min
What profilers look for at crime scenes
12:57 • 2min
Historical roots: Doyle to WWII profiling
15:07 • 3min
From geographic mapping to predictive policing
18:17 • 4min
Narrative, magic, and the appeal of profiling
22:25 • 3min
Profiling successes and failures
24:58 • 2min
Why true crime fascinates women more
27:21 • 2min
Intuition, rapid cognition, and threat detection
29:18 • 2min
MKUltra, Henry Murray, and unethical experiments
31:20 • 4min
Linguistic profiling and the Unabomber
35:40 • 2min
Manson, cults, and MKUltra suspicions
37:48 • 2min
The Jekyll-and-Hyde problem
39:52 • 4min
Dissonance when monsters seem normal
43:40 • 6min
Different types of killers: organized vs impulsive
49:49 • 3min
What drives someone to act on homicidal fantasies
52:20 • 4min
Situational power: Stanford, Milgram, and Ordinary Men
56:26 • 8min
Profiling leaders and the limits of remote analysis
01:04:02 • 5min
Personality, measurement limits, and base-rate neglect
01:09:06 • 4min
Outro
01:12:44 • 1min
#52165
Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler
With Predictions of His Future Behavior and Suggestions for Dealing with Him Now and After Germany's Surrender
Henry A. Murray MD
Prepared by psychologist Henry A. Murray for the U.S.
Office of Strategic Services in October 1943, this report provides a detailed psychoanalytic assessment of Adolf Hitler based on published sources.
It includes a condensed review with sections on Hitler's personality analysis, predictions of his future behavior (such as potential suicide), and recommendations for his treatment as well as that of the German populace post-surrender.
The document draws from materials like those by Vernon and notes overlaps with Walter C. Langer's similar report, with claims that Langer borrowed from Murray's work.
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Peter Sloterdijk
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The Monsters We Make
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Rachel Corbett
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Mindhunter
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John Douglas
This book provides a chilling glimpse into the world of serial killers and the FBI agents who hunt them.
Written by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker, it details Douglas's 25-year career in the FBI's Investigative Support Unit, focusing on his pioneering work in psychological profiling.
The book includes case studies of notorious serial killers such as Charles Manson, Ed Kemper, and David Berkowitz, and explores the motivations and thought processes of these criminals.
It highlights the importance of combining traditional detective work with psychological analysis and showcases the evolution of profiling from an experimental approach to a crucial investigative tool.
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The book is centered around Zimbardo's famous Stanford Prison Experiment, where students were assigned roles as prisoners and guards, leading to disturbing outcomes.
It also examines other historical and contemporary examples, such as the Abu Ghraib prison abuses, to illustrate how situational and systemic forces can transform individuals.
Zimbardo argues that humans are neither inherently good nor evil but are shaped by their circumstances.
The book explores concepts like deindividuation, dehumanization, and the evil of inaction, and concludes by discussing the concept of heroism and how individuals can resist negative situational influences.
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From AI to Zombies
Eliezer Yudkowsky
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Christopher R. Browning
This book by Christopher R. Browning examines the actions of Reserve Police Battalion 101, a unit of the German Order Police, during World War II. The battalion was responsible for mass shootings and round-ups of Jewish people for deportation to Nazi death camps in Poland in 1942.
Browning argues that the men of this unit were not fanatical Nazis but ordinary middle-aged, working-class men who committed these atrocities due to group dynamics of conformity, deference to authority, role adaptation, and the altering of moral norms.
The book is based on postwar interrogations of former members of the battalion and provides a detailed and chilling glimpse into how ordinary men were transformed into active participants in the Holocaust.
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Chaos
Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties
Tom O’Neill
Dan Piepenbring
This book is the result of twenty years of meticulous research by Tom O'Neill, who questions the Helter Skelter scenario presented by Vincent Bugliosi.
O'Neill's investigation delves into police carelessness, legal misconduct, and potential surveillance by intelligence agents.
The book explores the connections between Charles Manson, Hollywood figures, and the CIA's mind-control experiments, presenting a complex and alternative view of the Manson murders and their place in American history.
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HELTER SKELTER
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Curt Gentry
Vincent Bugliosi
This book provides a comprehensive and gripping narrative of the Manson Family murders, including the Tate-LaBianca killings, and the trial that followed.
Bugliosi's insider perspective as the prosecutor offers unique insights into the investigation, the psychology of Charles Manson and his followers, and the legal processes involved.
The book has become the best-selling true crime book in history and has had a significant impact on popular culture and legal practices.
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Daniel Kahneman
In this book, Daniel Kahneman takes readers on a tour of the mind, explaining how the two systems of thought shape our judgments and decisions.
System 1 is fast, automatic, and emotional, while System 2 is slower, effortful, and logical.
Kahneman discusses the impact of cognitive biases, the difficulties of predicting future happiness, and the effects of overconfidence on corporate strategies.
He offers practical insights into how to guard against mental glitches and how to benefit from slow thinking in both personal and business life.
The book also explores the distinction between the 'experiencing self' and the 'remembering self' and their roles in our perception of happiness.
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The Murderer Next Door
Why the Mind Is Designed to Kill
David Buss
In 'The Murderer Next Door', David M. Buss presents a bold new general theory of homicide from an evolutionary psychology perspective.
The book delves into the underlying motives and circumstances of murders, from serial killers to ordinary individuals who commit homicide.
Buss argues that the human psyche has evolved specialized adaptations whose function is to kill, and he explains the high-risk situations that can push anyone over the edge.
The book features gripping storytelling about specific murder cases and includes findings from extensive studies, including an investigation of homicidal fantasies and detailed analyses of murder data.
#31
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Mein Kampf
Adolf Hitler
Mein Kampf, written by Adolf Hitler while he was imprisoned following the failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, is a two-volume work that combines autobiography and political treatise.
The book details Hitler's early life, his experiences during World War I, and his increasing antisemitism and militarism.
It outlines his vision for Germany, including the need for Lebensraum (living space) in Eastern Europe, and his racist and anti-Semitic views.
The work became the central text of National Socialism and a blueprint for Hitler's policies, including aggressive foreign policy and the persecution of Jews and other minority groups.
Criminal profiling promises certainty in the face of horror: this is what a killer looks like, this is how they think, this is how we stop them. But what if that promise is mostly an illusion?
In this episode, Michael Shermer is joined by journalist and author Rachel Corbett to dismantle the myths behind criminal profiling, from the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit to our obsession with serial killers, mindhunters, and "psychological fingerprints."
Corbett explains why randomness is harder to accept than evil, and how our hunger for neat explanations can actually make us less safe.
Plus, the legacy of MKUltra and Ted Kaczynski, the seductive appeal of true crime, and the uncomfortable truth behind the "Jekyll and Hyde" problem: monsters rarely look like monsters.
Rachel Corbett is a features writer at New York magazine, and her writing has also appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Atlantic. She is the author of You Must Change Your Life, which won the Marfield Prize, the National Award for Arts Writing. Her new book is The Monsters We Make: Murder, Obsession, and the Rise of Criminal Profiling.