People listen to true crime podcasts to satisfy various psychological needs, with an emphasis on seeking information and learning about human behavior. However, a new study was published in the journal Psychology of popular media It suggests that people 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 widespread appeal of true crime stories derives from their ability to satisfy very different psychological needs across diverse audiences.
True crime entertainment occupies a very prominent place in the modern media landscape. Podcasts in particular have experienced significant growth and consistently rank among the most downloaded audio programs in the United States. This particular medium attracts a uniquely gendered audience. Women make up the majority of both the creators and listeners of these popular audio programs.
Fans develop a positive relationship with the genre, and this relationship often becomes a relevant part of the fan’s personal identity. Fans frequently listen closely and repeat stories, and many join online communities to discuss their favorite cases. Despite such a large and passionate audience, scientists know little about the underlying psychological factors that drive people to consume stories about real-world murders, kidnappings, and assaults.
Researchers Sophia V. Rea and Laramie D. Taylor wanted to understand the specific needs these podcasts fulfill for listeners. They tried to identify the most common motivations for tuning.
The researchers wanted to see if stable temperament traits, in addition to general motivations, could predict why someone would seek out this sensational content. “I was drawn to this topic because even though true crime is a major cultural phenomenon, we know surprisingly little about why people are so fascinated by it,” says Rea, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Davis. “Popular narratives often assume that fans are morbid or ‘dark,’ but such assumptions are rarely supported by the data.”
Rea noted that many listeners claim to find utility in the genre. “At the same time, more content creators and fans are expressing that true crime plays a functional role in their lives, helping them learn about the world and feel safer,” Rea told SciPost. “We wanted to understand the psychological characteristics and motivations behind actual criminal behavior in a way that goes beyond stereotypes and speculation.”
This research is based on the broader psychological concept that our unique personal characteristics cause us to react very differently to the same media. This helps explain why some people find serial killer stories horrifying while others find them comforting. The researchers focused specifically on the “dark triad” of personality traits. The Dark Triad is a psychological framework that groups three socially undesirable personality traits. These traits are narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism.
Narcissism involves feelings of grandiosity, superiority, and a strong desire for attention. Psychopathy is characterized by low empathy, lack of remorse, and a tendency to seek thrilling experiences. Machiavellianism refers to a manipulative nature and tendency to exploit others for personal gain. The researchers focused on the underlying levels of these traits. This means that we focused on everyday personality differences rather than formal medical diagnoses.
The authors proposed that people play an active role in their media diet. This idea is known as the uses and gratifications framework. This suggests that viewers are not passive receivers of information. Instead, they actively seek out specific types of entertainment to achieve specific cognitive or emotional goals.
To explore these dynamics, researchers recruited 300 true crime podcast fans. Participants were recruited from two different sources to ensure a diverse sample. Some participants were recruited from true crime message boards on the social media platform Reddit. The remaining participants were selected from undergraduate students at a large West Coast university.
Researchers screened the group to ensure that all participants had listened to true crime podcasts and were fans of the genre. The final sample was approximately 73% female. The average age of the participants was approximately 26 years.
This study used two different methods to measure motivation. First, participants answered an open-ended question asking them to explain 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 amounts of text to identify recurring themes without human bias.
Participants then completed a 30-item survey designed to measure specific podcast listening motivations. Participants rated how strongly they agreed with statements related to various underlying needs. These needs include entertainment, relaxation, information gathering, companionship, social interaction, escapism, time-killing, and voyeurism. Voyeurism refers to the enjoyment of observing the private or personal details of other people’s lives.
Participants also completed a 12-item psychological survey known as the Dirty Dozen. This simple 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, participants reported how often they listen to true crime podcasts and how important being a fan is to their personal identity.
When researchers observed general audiences, they found that seeking information was the most common motivation for listening. A computer algorithm identified several clear learning-oriented themes among the open-ended responses. Fans reported a desire to learn about the justice system. They also expressed a strong curiosity about human behavior and a desire to understand the psychology behind why criminals behave the way they do.
“We were surprised at how consistently our listeners valued information,” Rea said. “While true crime podcasts often include sensational or horrifying content, fans seem to be using them to learn about and understand criminal activity and understand the world around them.”
This focus on education is consistent with the culture of survival often promoted by hosts of popular true crime podcasts. Listeners often tune in to learn from victims’ mistakes in hopes of gleaning knowledge to keep them safe in the real world. Other themes identified in written responses centered on cognitive engagement, interest in specific crimes, and deep involvement in narrative storytelling.
“They don’t engage with this violent content the way horror fans do,” Rea added. “For fans of true crime podcasts, it seems like it’s not about the adrenaline rush. It’s about understanding.”
“Honestly, the headline is simple: True crime fans want answers, not blood,” Rea said. “Most people listen to learn, not to enjoy someone’s suffering or misfortune.”
The structured survey also highlighted that the passage of time, general entertainment, and physiological arousal were important motivators for some listeners. Arousal in this context refers to the physical thrill or excitement that people experience when they engage with frightening or suspenseful content. This suggests that some true crime fans have a high base desire for intense sensory experiences.
When researchers took Dark Triad personality traits into account, they noticed a clear shift in listening motivation. Those who scored high on psychopathy reported listening to true crime podcasts for relaxation, companionship, and social interaction. They also cited voyeurism and escapist habits as important motivations. Furthermore, individuals with higher psychopathy scores reported stronger personal perceptions of being true crime fans.
Those who scored high on narcissism showed a different pattern of motives. These individuals tended to seek out true crime content primarily for entertainment and excitement. However, the higher the narcissism score, the lower the overall listening frequency. The authors note that narcissistic individuals may use these stories to imagine ways to outwit criminals or avoid becoming victims, and to experience a sense of comparative superiority.
Machiavellian traits did not show any significant association with specific listening motives or listening frequency. Overall, these findings highlight that true crime podcast fans are not a monolithic group. “Certainly, some ‘dark’ personality traits shape certain motivations, but the idea that true crime fans might be drawn to violence for its own sake just doesn’t hold up when you look at the data,” Rea said.
The researchers outlined several limitations to their study. This study relied on a cross-sectional design, meaning that data were collected at a single time point. This prevents scientists from determining cause and effect. It remains unclear whether underlying personality traits influence media choices or whether heavy consumption of real crime subtly shapes a person’s temperament.
“It’s important to remember that these insights come from a relatively narrow scope of the real crime world,” Rea said. “True crime podcasts may be popular, but they are not monolithic and are just one corner of a much larger genre. It’s also worth bearing in mind that this is a research study, which means we can’t make strong claims about the direction of these effects or the causes behind them.”
Participants are also likely to be younger and more comfortable with digital technology than the average podcast listener. Reliance on self-reported open-ended responses poses another limitation. Participants may not be fully aware of, or unable to articulate, the subconscious reasons behind their media preferences.
Future research should expand to include people who occasionally hear true crime stories but do not consider themselves fans. Scientists also want to investigate the real-world effects of consuming large amounts of pathological media. They plan to investigate whether heavy consumption of true crime podcasts increases anxiety and fear for personal safety in the real world.
“My long-term goal in this line of research is to continue to understand how and why people become fans of particular media, and what consequences, both good and bad, that fandom can have,” Rea said. “Specifically when it comes to true crime fans, I continue to explore true crime as a gendered content space and have investigated the impact of engaging with true crime content.”
The study, “The Dark Side Viewer: Do Antisocial Personality Traits Predict True Crime Listening Motivation,” was authored by Sophia V. Rea and Laramie D. Taylor.
