People listen to true crime podcasts to satisfy a variety of psychological needs, with a strong focus on seeking information and learning about human behavior. But a new study published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media suggests that individuals with certain antisocial personality traits tend to tune in for entirely different reasons, such as relaxation or pure entertainment. These findings provide evidence that the broad appeal of true crime stories stems from their ability to gratify vastly different psychological desires across diverse audiences.
True crime entertainment occupies a highly visible place in the modern media landscape. Podcasts, in particular, have experienced massive growth, consistently ranking among the most downloaded audio programs in the United States. This specific medium has attracted a uniquely gendered audience. Women make up the vast majority of both the creators and the listeners of these popular audio programs.
Fans develop a positive relationship with this genre, and this relationship often becomes a relevant part of their personal identity. Fans frequently engage in close, repeated listening, and many participate in online communities to discuss their favorite cases. Despite this massive and dedicated audience, scientists know very little about the underlying psychological drivers that prompt people to consume stories about real world murders, kidnappings, and assaults.
Researchers Sofia V. Rhea and Laramie D. Taylor wanted to understand the specific needs that these podcasts fulfill for their listeners. They sought to identify the most common motivations for tuning in.
In addition to general motivations, the researchers wanted to see if stable dispositional traits might predict why someone seeks out this sensational content. “I was drawn to this topic because true crime has become a massive cultural phenomenon, yet we still know surprisingly little about why people are so captivated by it,” said Rhea, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Davis. “Popular narratives often assume that fans are morbid or ‘dark,’ but those assumptions rarely come from data.”
Rhea noted that many listeners claim to find practical utility in the genre. “At the same time, we are seeing more content creators and fans describe true crime as having a functional role in their lives, helping them learn about the world and feel safer,” Rhea told PsyPost. “I wanted to understand the psychological traits and motivations behind true crime engagement in a way that moves beyond stereotypes and conjecture.”
The study was grounded in a broader psychological concept which posits that our unique personal traits make us respond to the exact same media in vastly different ways. This helps explain why one person might find a story about a serial killer terrifying, while another finds it soothing. The researchers focused specifically on the “dark triad” of personality. The dark triad is a psychological framework that groups together three socially undesirable personality traits. These traits are narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism.
Narcissism involves a sense of grandiosity, superiority, and a strong desire for attention. Psychopathy is characterized by low empathy, a lack of remorse, and a tendency to seek out thrilling experiences. Machiavellianism refers to a manipulative nature and a tendency to exploit others for personal gain. The researchers focused on subclinical levels of these traits, meaning they looked at everyday personality differences rather than formal medical diagnoses.
The authors proposed that people possess an active role in their media diets. This idea is known as the uses and gratifications framework. It suggests that audiences are not passive receivers of information. Instead, they actively seek out specific types of entertainment to fulfill specific cognitive or emotional goals.
To explore these dynamics, the researchers recruited 300 true crime podcast fans. The participants were gathered from two distinct sources to ensure a varied sample. Some participants were recruited from true crime discussion boards on the social media platform Reddit. The rest of the participants were drawn from the undergraduate student body at a large West Coast university.
The researchers screened the group to ensure all participants both consumed true crime podcasts and identified as fans of the genre. The final sample was roughly 73 percent female. The participants had an average age of about 26 years.
The study measured motivations using two distinct methods. First, participants answered an open ended question asking them to describe, in their own words, why they listen to true crime podcasts. The researchers analyzed these written responses using an artificial intelligence technique called topic modeling. This computer algorithm scans large bodies of text to identify recurring themes without human bias.
Second, participants completed a 30 item questionnaire designed to measure specific podcast listening motives. Participants rated how strongly they agreed with statements related to various potential needs. These needs included entertainment, relaxation, information gathering, companionship, social interaction, escaping reality, passing the time, and voyeurism. Voyeurism refers to the enjoyment of observing the private or personal details of other people’s lives.
The participants also completed a 12 item psychological survey known as the Dirty Dozen. This brief questionnaire measures the presence of the three dark triad personality traits. Participants rated their agreement with statements such as “I tend to lack remorse” or “I tend to manipulate others to get my way.” Finally, the participants reported how frequently they listened to true crime podcasts and how important being a fan was to their personal identity.
When looking at the general audience, the researchers found that information seeking was the most prevalent motivation for listening. The computer algorithm identified several distinct learning oriented themes in the open ended responses. Fans reported a desire to educate themselves about the justice system. They also expressed a strong curiosity about human behavior and a desire to understand the psychology behind why criminals act the way they do.
“I was surprised by how consistently information-focused listeners were,” Rhea said. “Even though true crime podcasts often include sensational or frightening material, fans seem to be using them to learn, understand criminal behavior, or make sense of the world around them.”
This focus on education aligns with the culture of survival often promoted by popular true crime podcast hosts. Listeners frequently tune in to learn from the mistakes of victims, hoping to gather knowledge that might keep them safe in the real world. Other themes identified in the written responses centered around cognitive engagement, fascination with specific crimes, and deep involvement in the narrative storytelling.
“They are not approaching this violent content the way horror fans might,” Rhea added. “For true crime podcast fans, it does not seem to be about the adrenaline rush. It is about understanding.”
“Honestly, the headline is simple: true crime fans want answers, not blood,” Rhea said. “Most people are listening to learn, not to revel in anyone’s suffering and misfortune.”
The structured questionnaire also highlighted that passing the time, general entertainment, and physiological arousal were significant motivators for some listeners. Arousal in this context refers to the physical thrill or excitement people experience when engaging with frightening or suspenseful content. This suggests that some true crime fans possess a heightened baseline desire for intense sensory experiences.
When the researchers factored in the dark triad personality traits, they noticed distinct shifts in listening motivations. People who scored higher in psychopathy reported listening to true crime podcasts for relaxation, companionship, and social interaction. They also cited voyeurism and the habit of escaping reality as significant motivators. In addition, individuals with higher psychopathy scores reported a stronger personal identification as true crime fans.
Individuals who scored higher in narcissism exhibited a different pattern of motivation. These individuals tended to seek out true crime content primarily for entertainment and arousal. However, higher narcissism scores were associated with a lower overall frequency of listening. The authors note that narcissistic individuals might use these stories to experience a sense of comparative superiority, imagining how they would outsmart criminals or avoid becoming victims.
The trait of Machiavellianism did not show any significant associations with specific listening motivations or listening frequency. Overall, these findings highlight that true crime podcast fans are not a monolithic group. “Yes, some ‘dark’ personality traits shape specific motives, but the idea that true crime fans may be drawn to violence for its own sake just doesn’t hold up once you look at the data,” Rhea said.
The researchers outlined a few limitations to their work. The study relied on a cross sectional design, meaning the data was collected at a single point in time. This prevents scientists from determining cause and effect. It remains unknown whether underlying personality traits dictate media choices or if a heavy diet of true crime subtly shapes a person’s disposition.
“It is important to remember that these insights come from a relatively narrow slice of the true crime world,” Rhea said. “True crime podcasts may be popular, but they are not monolithic, and they represent only one specific corner of a much larger genre. It is also worth noting that this is survey research, which means we cannot make strong claims about the direction of these effects or the causes behind them.”
The participant pool was also likely younger and more comfortable with digital technology than the average podcast listener. The reliance on self reported open ended responses presents another limitation. Participants might not fully recognize or be able to articulate the subconscious reasons behind their media preferences.
Future research should expand to include people who occasionally listen to true crime but do not consider themselves fans. Scientists also hope to explore the real world consequences of consuming so much morbid media. They plan to investigate whether heavy consumption of true crime podcasts increases real world anxieties and fears about personal safety.
“My long-term goal with this line of research is to keep understanding how and why people become fans of specific media, and what the consequences of that fandom might be, both good and bad,” Rhea said. “When it comes to true crime fans specifically, I am continuing to explore true crime as a gendered content space and have been examining the effects of engaging with true crime content.”
The study, “Audiences on the Dark Side: Do Antisocial Personality Traits Predict Motives for True Crime Listening?,” was authored by Sofia V. Rhea and Laramie D. Taylor.
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