The
aggressiveness exhibited toward future colleagues by probationers from what
Christin (2017) calls the expert fields – comprised here of law enforcement,
journalistic and academic domains – typifies the character of those surviving
rigors heaped upon them. Rites of passage perform as selection mechanisms that allow
experts withstanding such rituals access to the sanctity derived from
possession of credentials. The propensity to direct lingering animosity at
associates after the passage of these trials, coupled with the inclination to
lure others into the oppressive fray, compels trainees of the expert fields to
behave in defective ways. Because the best are inevitably led astray by systems
that gradually reward the wrong behaviors (Apple, 2017), such transgressions
became tautologically linked to their professions. These transformations are
now inextricably infused to the initiate’s temperament and served as the
harbinger of the malevolent side of human nature to these sectors. The
antisocial nature required to participate, flourish and thrive in these
institutions may, as Muris, Merckelbach, Otgaar, & Meijer (2017) postulate,
foster dark features in those encountering what Christin (2017) calls ‘strict
barriers to entry”. This chapter will explore the heterogeneous and multidimensional
(Kowalski, Vernon, & Schermer, 2017) dark characteristics that influence six
dark personality-derived profiles [referred to hereinafter as profiles]
specific to the expert fields: Phony Charlatans, Mystic Defenders, Harboring
Imposters, False Mentors, Foraging Collaborators, and Disreputable Profiteers.
Beacons
in the Dark?
Criminals
receive undue attention from the expert fields as non-offenders – whose traits, attitudes and circumstances aid in a renouncement
of unlawful
behavior – are ignored (DeLisi, 2017). Society relies on the law enforcement
officer (LEO), journalist and academic to function as beacons of order and
knowledge in dark times, those marked by Kajonius, Persson, & Jonason
(2015) as decreasing in empathy for others and contemporary culture. Although
they continue to swear to abide by oaths of honor and integrity in their
service to the public, the unmitigated power assumed by these disciplines has
attracted some with nefarious intent (Barker, 2014). Given the centrality
afforded to expert knowledge in modern society (Christin, 2017), when autonomy,
relatedness and competence (Furnham, Hyde, & Trickey, 2014) come into
dissonance with context, a transmogrification occurs that facilitates the
utilization of behaviors such as wanton hostility, threats of excommunication
and fear of rebuke to aid in obtaining stature and control. Future pro-social
efforts to be truthful, honest, fair, sincere, and faithful (Muris et al.,
2017) are enveloped once the dark traits are understood to carry minimal threat
of negative psychosocial consequences (Furnham et al., 2014; Jonason, Webster,
Schmitt, Li, & Crysel, 2012) and be beneficial to the possessor.
The
dark tetrad of Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy and ‘everyday sadism’
(Black, Woodworth & Porter, 2014; Paulhus & Williams, 2002) are evolved
and adaptive strategies (Jones & Figueredo, 2013) consisting of
inter-correlated personality traits (Paulhus, Curtis, & Jones, 2018) and exist
in the framework of transgressive behavior (Muris et al., 2017). These enduring
styles of thinking, acting and feeling are measured on a continuum of
individual differences (Paulhus et al., 2018), often tied together with Social
Dominance Orientation (Sidanius, Liu, Shaw & Pratto, 1994) and abundant
among those that study and capture serial homicide offenders. No research
addresses the commonalities across the investigative and social professions of
the expert fields as Hare (2017) believes viewing clinical descriptions and
empirical findings through a prism of dysfunction regarding these traditionally
respected roles is difficult.
Hare
(1980) undertook study of psychopaths around the time interest in serial murder
compelled researchers and practitioners to invest in that construct. The terms
became conflated (Sherretts, Boduszek, Debowska, & Willmott, 2017)
due to the nature in which offenders treat their victims (Hickey, Walters,
Drislane, & Patrick, 2014). The quest to understand how serial murder and
psychopathy interface (Hickey et al., 2014) and questions regarding why
individuals with characteristics and experiences similar to those of the multiple
murderer do not commit serial killings (Schlesinger, 1998) required experts to
begin studying this phenomenon from the perspective of the serial homicide
offender (Culhane, Hilstad, Freng, & Gray, 2011). It has since been discovered
that most perpetrators of homicide (Boduszek, Debowska, & Willmott, 2017;
Sherretts et al., 2017) and serial homicide (Beasley, 2004; Hickey et al.,
2014; Culhane et. al, 2011; Reid, 2017) fail to rank adequately high enough on
the revised Psychopathy Checklist (Venables, Hall, & Patrick, 2014) to be
considered psychopathic. This suggests that the difference in intensity of
traits between forensic and non-forensic populations is not as pronounced as once
thought (Boduszek et al., 2017). Although some argue that the core characteristics of psychopathic personality
disorder are incompatible with successful functioning (Brooks & Fritzon,
2016), mediating
violent drives with everyday
sadism may allow the profiles to operate efficiently while venting anger and
demeaning others for pleasure (Jones, 2017). These findings place the pursuers
in closer proximity to the pursued
as use of the dark tetrad has been identified as aiding in professional
endeavors (Furnham et al., 2014; Jonason et al., 2012).
Valuing
the Principled Use of Dark Traits
Because
dark traits – characterized by Kajonius et al. (2015) as entitlement,
superiority and dominance (i.e., narcissism), glib social charm and
manipulativeness (i.e., Machiavellianism), callous social attitudes,
impulsivity, and interpersonal antagonism (i.e., psychopathy) and enjoyed
cruelty (i.e. sadism) – are understood to be practical responses to everyday
life they must be thought of as learned values. The exclusion of others is
encouraged by leaders of the three domains viewing them as businesses. Individuals
high on dark tetrad traits, craving stimulation, achievement, and power
(Kajonius et al., 2015), are often heralded while supervisors mistake
meretricious dominance as being effective and persuasive. The value systems
maintained by employees of the expert fields are inconsistent with most simply
due to the type of specialized focus and subject matter with which each
contends. While repeated exposure desensitizes homicide investigators to death,
some in the expert fields display empathy strategically to further goals and
resort to surface and deep acting to depersonalize and distance themselves
(Huey & Kalyal, 2017). Therefore, the darkness of the tetrad does not
necessarily originate from some latent evilness but rather a difference in
principles (Kajonius et al., 2015).
The
rigid rule structure imposed upon staff at each of the three institutions has
existed for hundreds of years, standing as a challenge to the most dark and imaginative
to invent ways of circumventing such regulations and directives. The normalization
of corruption in law enforcement organizations (Ashforth
& Anand, 2003), entitlement in
academic environments (Turnipseed & Cohen, 2015), elitism
(Christin, 2017) and sensationalism
in the news media (Parmley, 1995; Pauli, 2017) are byproducts of dark
personalities learning boundaries and breaking rules. Muris et al. (2017) might
categorize those in the expert fields as “living in circumstances under which
they no longer observe rules”. While most occupations may not sponsor the use
of transgressive behaviors to advance society (Muris et al., 2017), members of
the expert fields that engage in violations of social norms and moral values
are often seen as just, curious, creative and influential in retrospect, where
narcissism is confused with self-confidence and antisocial personality disorder
is a marker of decisiveness and courage (Furnham et al., 2014). Perhaps dark personalities
intentionally activate facets of their character when advantageous to
accomplishing goals or when course correcting after forced by hindrances to
stray from their true providence. In response to hazards experienced during
daily work routines of the expert fields, Paulhus et al. (2018) note that
Machiavellians utilize relational aggression to establish social hierarchies or
to assert power, sadists perform boring tasks for the opportunity to harm
others, and narcissists show aggressive reactions to insults to their
intellectual ability.
Fortunately,
most activities begun by dark personalities progress no further than providing
opportunities for the profiles to showcase themselves as these endeavors are
often founded in myth (Beauge, 2013). For this reason, the dark personalities’
inclination to destroy others may appear trite or even conventional by modern
standards (Paulhus & Williams, 2002). The tendencies common to dark personalities
– self-promotion, emotional-interpersonal coldness and aggressiveness (Paulhus
& Williams, 2002) – manifest through a common core of disagreeableness and inevitably
result in overlap throughout current measures of the dark tetrad (Paulhus et
al., 2018) and across career sectors (Kijak, 2016). While significant
relationships exist between narcissism and leadership, Machiavellianism and competitive
roles, psychopathy and positions of authority and power, Machiavellians in particular
are suited to investigative (policing, journalism) and social (education)
careers (Kijak, 2016). This review demonstrates that the profiles contain less
of the psychopath’s erratic lifestyle and deficiencies in impulse control
and more of their disinhibited, coercively parasitic orientation and bold but
superficially conning natures, less of the Machiavellianist’s cynical disregard
for morality and more of their long-term deliberate calculation and
goal-directed strategic planning, less of the narcissist’s pursuit of gratification
from vanity and more of their arrogance, egotism and exaggeration of attributes
to appear superior.
Illuminating
the Path Forward
Research
is needed to discern if the dark tetrad concept is redundant with the variance
in the dark personality traits contained in the Big Five factors of openness to experience, conscientiousness,
extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism
(Rantanen,
Metsäpelto, Feldt, Pulkkinen, Kokko, 2007). This review followed the roadmap
laid forth by Muris et al. (2017) which suggested future research focus on
populations other than student samples, approaches beyond the cross-sectional
and results produced from consideration paid to the dimensionality of
personality and the proximal examination of the dark traits. Because
individuals in community samples with dark traits tend to underreport negative behaviors
(Paulhus & John, 1998), the paucity of factor analytic work using
measurement instruments such as the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale–Short Form (SRP-SF)
precludes any firm conclusions from being made regarding its dimensionality
(Debowska, Boduszek, Dhingra, Sherretts, Willmott, & DeLisi, 2017).
The
use of alternative observational methods was required in this review to gauge
the existence and impact of dark traits among those that study and capture
serial homicide offenders. Since self-report questionnaires may aid
narcissists, Machiavellians, psychopaths and sadists in presenting themselves
in a disguised way (Muris et al., 2017), ethnographers, as Christin (2017)
notes, should be keenly sensitive to discrepancies between outward statements
and private sentiments. Those under the employ of these three vocations are
hyperaware of dark traits and would be less forthcoming about potentially
latent characteristics lingering within themselves. The author, whose presence
and work among the expert fields has spanned nearly two decades, acts as the
primary informant and utilizes an ethnographic strategy as a means to bypass
the observer effect, attribution errors and fake-good reporting biases. Because
the traits and characteristics of these disorders are a product of complex
interactions between biological and temperamental predispositions and social
forces (Babiak,
Folino, Hancock, Hare, Logan, Mayer, Meloy, Häkkänen-Nyholm, O’Toole,
Pinizzotto, Porter, Smith, & Woodworth, 2012), it is
important to frame this review as concentrating on those whose efforts to make
inroads to become well established experts in their careers cause distress to
others through use of transgressive behavior and antagonistic schemes.
Consequences
of Transgressive Behavior and Antagonistic Schemes
Complaints
regarding etiquette can appear unfounded given the seemingly positive impact dark
traits have had on these sectors. Research demonstrates that serial homicide is
declining as a result of alienists magnifying qualities shared with the pursued
(Yaksic, DeSpirito, & Reid, 2017). But the psychopathic personality
condition, which results in substantial destruction to the self and others (Colins,
Fanti, Salekin, & Andershed, 2017) alongside the mercurial nature of many
industry standouts has caused derailment (Furnham et al., 2014) to occur. Because
older scientists champion the regnant paradigm out of emotional connection and
prestige (Gobry, 2016) timeworn tropes and outmoded
perspectives dictate much of what is known regarding serial murder. The use of
structured and systematically collected data was explored (Yaksic, 2015) to
combat the deleterious proliferation of myths overtaking the study and pursuit
of serial homicide offenders due to the reliance on anecdata and obsession with
archaic crimes (Evans, 2017; Haigney, 2017; Killelea, 2017; Notes, 2017) over
the past half century. The abandonment and collapse of this initiative, which
intended to freely offer information on serial murderers, is attributable to a
multitude of factors – misplaced political affiliations, deep personal biases,
open disdain for credit sharing and a commodification of the work of others for
personal gain (Yaksic, 2017a). Such characteristics, indigenous to the realms
of law enforcement, journalism and academia (Babiak et al., 2012), lead those
composed of dark personality traits to unceremoniously obtain influence, collude
with like minds to maintain power and prevent open and transparent discussion.
Skepticism
about the quality and quantity of information held in datasets is a healthy
exercise (Long, 2017) in the era of big data but one often viewed as setting
the stage for adversarial relationships. Few support open science or the
confrontation of errors (Oransky & Marcus, 2017) in order to keep data hidden
and protect against the discovery of its limitations and flaws. The
non-rational psychological mechanisms of psychic numbing, pseudoinefficacy and
the prominence effect (Slovic & Slovic, 2015) impact efforts to provide
meaning to data as the profiles ensure that the good of the few outweigh the
needs of the many. Consortiums among the expert fields serve as feedback
chambers rather than true exchanges of ideas because public sector employees
are less likely to involve others in work activities and have a weaker social
presence than those in the private sector (Furnham et al., 2014). The depth and
length of teamwork determines the speed in which alliances deteriorate and fail,
leading to what Black et al. (2014) call short-term
exploitative relationships as the realness of colleagues is divulged after the
need to feign empathy wanes. Results of the present author’s collaborative
experiment (Yaksic, 2015) demonstrate that
the cognitive importance, perception of resemblance and positive emotional
valence associated with belonging to the in-group is central to the
self-concept (Sherretts et al., 2017) of the expert fields.
Resultantly, faction forming, segregation and disavowal of other’s work are
the chosen methods of dealing with viewpoints counter to the mainstream. For
example, the theory regarding the decline in serial
homicide (Yaksic et al., 2017), which would taper the wild exaggerations behind
the estimations of serial homicide victimization (Fridg, 2017; Gellatly, 2017;
Whiffen, 2017; Montgomery, Rice, & Cummings, 2017;
Dumcius, 2017) and effectively curtail the agendas of
profit seekers, is at the mercy of such obstacles and may culminate in negative
backlash directed towards the authors.
Refracting
Light Upon the Dark Archetypes
Behavior
enabling ruthless subjugation has become commonplace in the 21st
century as those in power exercise their will over others regardless of
consequence. Power, domination and control play a large part in the lives of serial
homicide offenders because serial murder is about the practiced masking of true
intentions through use of duality and presentation of self to exert masculinity.
Although “pro-social” dark personalities behave similarly, they remain
unchecked and insulated by status and rationalizations while spouting support
for the victims and their families. The emergence of the profiles coincides
with the witting utilization of strategies and reliance on fiendish tactics to
accomplish nefarious goals to forward reputations, increase stature, garner
awards and collect payment.
Members
of the profiles attempt to halt the process of impermanence by carving out niches, altering origin
stories, rewriting histories and protecting legacies. The battle to starve
off irrelevancy parallels the journey embarked upon by serial homicide
offenders to avoid capture, the associated pitfall of obscurity and the forced
consideration of the scope of their wake. The continuous distribution of some
aspects of the profiles ensures their dimensional, as opposed to categorical,
classification. The idea that psychopathic personality traits in adults are
best viewed on a continuum was posited by DeLisi (2009) even in the context of
the popular opinion that psychopaths are inhuman and qualitatively different
from other individuals. Babiak et al. (2012) concur, asserting that there is a range
between highly psychopathic persons to those with the same number or fewer
traits in a milder form. Because the expert fields exercise immense control
over their turf and care fanatically about structure of positions within these
spaces (Christin, 2017), navigating antagonistic personalities within these
subclinical worlds involves being aware of the components of which each is
comprised.
The
Phony Charlatan (PC) plies inspirational platitudes and peddles false hope to a
victim’s surviving family (Ferak, 2017) to manufacture celebrity by proxy. Forming
symbiotic relationships with successful individuals and attaching themselves to
high profile cases grants these professional connections access to aggrandizing
quotations later used as promotional material for merchandising opportunities
such as tomes detailing the life experiences (Mains, 2017) of these dissemblers.
Experts at self-promotion, PCs deceive themselves with unrealistic perceptions
of their “superhero” quality (Paulhus, 1998). Lacking requisite talent, PCs cast
aside contrary judgments and garishly thrust their way into the mainstream. PCs
prioritize the practice of appearing on media forums willing to host their unrelenting
yet empty pitch messages of redemption in the face of adversity ahead of
generating actual meaningful contributions as they yearn for virality (“TV
show”, 2015). PCs exist as a packaged set of goods and services as their wares
must be presented to migrating audiences in a readily consumable format. PCs are
masters at advancing their commercial stature but sacrifice integrity on a quest
to attain the wealth to which they feel entitled. Cultivating a besotted,
sycophantic fanbase and pandering to those spectators aids PCs in alchemizing their
once obscure status to that of ‘living legend’ but sometimes requires
harnessing misfortune and any semblance of personal connection to tragedy.
The
Mystic Defender (MD) calls attention to an ongoing war of good against evil
proclaimed to be waged throughout society. MDs scoring high on dark traits are
seen more as “warriors” (Muris et al., 2017) with an unchallenged messianic
complex and assure themselves of an eventual triumph over sinister forces. These
fabulists are the embodiment of fantastical thinking and invent elaborate stories that serve as mechanisms to inject
themselves into the chronology of others’ lives (Beauge, 2015). MDs are supremely capable of persuading
others to believe a deluded version of reality where intervention requires
insight only they possess as few can comprehend the actions of criminals as
they are able. MDs wish to be trumpeted as visionaries and demand that others
bask in the glory of their creations. Their trajectories remain aimed towards
favorable outcomes regardless of the preponderance of voices clamoring for
evidence of such masterful deeds. For example, MD’s frame unresolved homicides
as stories without finite endings in an ingenious ploy that absolves them from
any expectations of providing a conclusion. To MDs, bringing attention to cases
is enough of a contribution as blame is placed on LEOs for any stall in
momentum. Inactivity is interpreted to be the byproduct of a territorial
workforce (Ferak, 2015) whose burdens can be alleviated by taking advantage of
the consultation services offered by the MD and their cadre of ‘super friends’
(Brandolph, 2014). Imagery is broadcast as propaganda to indoctrinate, instill
a sense of valor and boldness and be emulated by underlings because MDs desire
to subvert preexisting cultures and transition herds to higher plains of
existence (Hiller, 2013). Without acknowledging the often complex network of
circumstances that affect outcomes in the criminal justice system, MDs
erroneously assume that the dedication of will and attention can conquer all
problems.
The
Harboring Imposter (HI) capitalizes on their target’s benevolence and requests
assistance traversing the landscape of the expert fields only to jettison their
guides once they establish their own foothold. HIs can be classified as prototypical
“users” intent on fulfilling personal agendas under the guise of acting on the instruction
of larger entities such as media conglomerates, newspapers or television
companies. HIs are characterized by a compulsive need for limelight by generating
“look-at-me” reportage (Nazaryan, 2017) and attempting to bring literary
aspirations to true crime (Miller, 2017). An unwavering belief in their
superiority causes HIs to wield others as pawns to attain the endless litany of
awards reserved for those whose offerings outmatch their peers (Clarion-Ledger,
2017). These individuals precipitate narratives and nurture timelines that
serve to place the storyteller at the forefront (Quinn, 2017; Smith, 2017) using modern techniques
such as doublespeak or the humblebrag.
The
False Mentor (FM) molds conscripted lieges into loyal subjects while using this
oftentimes uncredited talent to sustain their own interests. Youthful energy is
syphoned by FMs as the student’s naivety and willingness to contribute is
misused. Because mentor relationships are parasitic and transactionary
alliances conducted under the equivocal façade of loyal friendship, the
eventual realization that such manipulation occurred leads to a deterioration
of the relationship. Future career prospects are hampered when the relationship
becomes irreparable because the student’s network is comprised of individuals
recommended by FMs. Wary of heirs to claim their kingdom, valid suggestions are
often unheeded due to the FMs fragile sense of self. Although FMs have poor
follow through, the mistakes of their henchmen are seldom overlooked. Refusal
to allow others to validate the work of FMs inspires siloed teams, resulting in
unbalanced projects loaded with errors and missing data (Anonymous, 2017). Some
lives are defined by achievements and the inflated stature garnered from work
done by others, perhaps encouraging the intellectual theft, blatant plagiarism
and ethics violations in the expert fields.
The
Foraging Collaborator (FC) feigns loyalty and respect when offering their
services only to disappear after periods of dormancy. The intelligence amassed by
FCs is traded to competitors to increase their stake in the next in-group. FCs are
acutely aware that titles equate to worth and build reputations intended to be enamored
by those outside of their expert field. FCs pledge allegiance to themselves,
alienating those that helped them acquire reverence. Oftentimes trained by FMs,
FCs come to view relationships as transient, ephemeral and disposable. Inhuman
metrics meant to judge individual competency fuel the FC’s search for
partnership but the process of leveraging connections sanitizes all meaningful
interactions and trumps any measure of authenticity. The FC’s miniscule
contributions, transformed by politics, can surpass those of the primary
investigators in the eyes of outsiders.
The
Disreputable Profiteer (DP) gains from the suffering and pain of victims and
their surviving family, being careful to avoid any missteps that affect the marketability
of their products and complete their mission no matter the cost. DPs develop a
meritorious attitude where both adulation and compensation are deserved with no
mode of monetization beyond their grasp. The golden age of true crime (Stewart, 2017) relieves the DP from
concerns that the denigration of victims should be regarded as anything more
than a wayward interest (Beck, 2014; Flynn, 2017; Owen, 2017) but closer
inspection demonstrates how exploitative this pastime of murder tourism can be
(Bennett, 2017; Miller, 2017; Nicholson, 2017). DPs flout limits and expand
their reach into taboo areas (i.e., necrophilia) as a means to channel the
fleeting attention of true crime connoisseurs. DPs are without serious
credentials and instead deploy methods devised to cloak those deficits by means
of misdirection (e.g., artificial padding of H-Indexes, outright plagiarism,
focus on niche markets or use of anecdotes instead of data). These techniques
often lead to struggles over a subject’s purview while DPs uphold the status
quo by answering serious inquiries with carbon copy, assembly line responses (Gross, 2017; Montgomery et al., 2017).
DPs maintain a predisposition to embellish facts, a defect directly
attributable to the same weak core tenets and underpinnings responsible for the
formulaic mainstay of befriending serial killers solely to profit from the
demise of others (Bonn, 2014; Phelps, 2017).
An
Unspoken Kinship Between the Pursuers and the Pursued
Many
professions are populated with those nurturing some proportion of the dark
traits – discourteous physicians, rude bus drivers, impolite waitresses,
ill-mannered executives, disrespectful bartenders, uncivil engineers,
ungracious insurers, unscrupulous attorneys, lurid personal trainers,
egotistical models, antisocial social workers and vile truckers – but dark
personalities emerge only when callousness and manipulation function as one. To
be considered intentionally harmful, one must be simultaneously dishonest and
lack concern for others (Jones & Figueredo, 2013; Paulhus et al., 2018).
The duties of LEO, journalist and professor are given to those with high levels
of cognitive abilities, extraversion and agreeableness – characterized by Muris
et al. (2017) as trustworthiness, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance,
modesty, and tender mindedness – but the profiles often deceive to ensure that
their subjects (e.g., informants, sources or research assistants) cooperate while
remaining apathetic to considerations for their long-term wellbeing. Huey and
Kalyal (2017) add that those with high emotional intelligence can display
emotions they do not genuinely feel, giving a perceived authenticity to their
emotive labor and empathetic appearance. Dishonesty is inherent across all
dimensions of the profiles and in tune with the pervasiveness of grandiosity,
callousness, competitiveness and the lack of adherence to moral rules and
values found in the expert fields. Here, the absence of honesty and empathy
converge across the profiles and constitute the malevolent personality
representing a ‘dark core’ of covariance (Jones & Figueredo, 2013). These
three industries also employ creative and narcissistic individuals (Muris et
al., 2017), each with high levels of verbal fluency, originality and speed of
processing which concurrently enable them to produce more credible lies and
contribute to feelings of entitlement and engagement in unethical behaviors as
the benefits of deceptive behaviors (Sarzyńskam, Falkiewicz, Riegel, Babula,
Margulies, Nęcka, Grabowska, & Szatkowska, 2017) are recognized.
There
is an invariable parallel between the mechanisms directing the behavior of the
serial murderer and those of the profiles. Each enacts plans after a series of
past successes while accommodating a level of social disengagement alongside
feelings of ‘otherness’ (Hickey et al., 2014). Stalwarts of these vocations
cannot insert bias as they keep the general public at arm’s length while
protecting, quoting and studying them. But those from the profiles fostering
sentiments of discontent and their doppelgängers (i.e., serial murderers) rely
on callous-unemotional features to readily bend the narrative to fit their
worldview. The anticipation and attainment of reward motivates both while each
operates at the behest of the antisocial dimensions of psychopathy (Hare, 2017)
and commit their offenses in a secretive, highly compartmentalized manner
(Hickey et al., 2014). Levin and Fox (2008) argue that sadistic serial killers
do not differ from other people in terms of their ability to exercise empathy, manage
the impression they make on others, compartimentalize and dehumanize. Instead,
killers merely lack a position of dominance in the legitimate system. The same proneness
to deviancy that serial murderers express during their progression towards
enactment (Hickey et al., 2014) conversely aides some in the expert fields to
make strides after attaining appointments laden with esteem. The expert fields
demand excellent memory retention as does a serial homicide offender’s ability
to recall facets of crimes decades afterwards. Novel ideas often arise in the
expert fields as intrusive thoughts along the same wavelengths that inspire
offenders to act at the insistence of knowledge gleaned during periods of
introspection and imaginative thinking. Investment in reputation is as crucial to
the expert fields as the serial murderer’s need to control how they are
portrayed. LEOs, journalists, professors and offenders are consumingly self-aware
and share mental processes beyond the detestable outcome of violent phases and acts.
Whatever
spawns the initial attraction to investigate serial murderers, the expert
fields come to find qualities intrinsic to serial killers commingled with their
own personalities. Curiosity regarding the amount of tethering and overlap
between the pursuers and the pursued often reveals the path towards
self-revelation but concomitantly undoes most internal progress. The absence of
morality and reliance on excuses, rampant in the expert fields, makes connections
to others counterfeit in soulless and bankrupt self-serving ventures. Methods used
by the expert fields – such as crafting clever origin stories meant to assist
in preying on targets – are unabashedly disingenuous and matched only by
fraudulently questionable motives. The collateral damage caused by the profiles
is often outright ignored, belatedly celebrated or quickly justified; in turn
preventing them from comprehending that such a myopic pursuit of grandiosity
diverged from the orthodox. Like serial murderers, the profiles institute ruses
and concoct façades to avoid criticism and are often confused by those in
opposition to their messages. The profiles experience anxiety regarding the
desperation to advance and are acutely aware that judgment may arrive from those
peering under the surface to penetrate their veneer. Each in the expert fields
is described as working towards missions believed to be accomplishable by them
alone due to their cunning and devious ways. The influence of other’s goodwill is
insignificant to the profiles as each remains convinced that their success
materialized solely due to their own knowhow.
Displays
of high antagonism and low conscientiousness are hallmarks of the disorder of
psychopathy but may be extreme levels of normally distributed personality
traits (DeLisi, 2009) similar to those sustained by serial murderers. To
persist in the expert fields requires a falsification of entire features of
one’s persona. In presenting a forward facing image, the profiles cajole others
to believe that they are adept at meeting the demands of participating in teams,
meanwhile securing their individual vested interests. Implementing moral
disengagement (Egan, Hughes, & Palmer, 2015) allows the profiles to
capitalize on their standing to ardently protect territory, destroy the
prospects of others, falsely claim credit and authorship over the ideas of
others, injudiciously refuse to collaborate, exploit the good will of
colleagues, emanate false confidence, demean the contributions of others and
control the narrative. As social media amplifies the ability to share branded
messages beyond unhealthy levels (Clemente, 2017), members of the profiles shun
mutualistic social strategies in favor of antagonistic ones where others are regarded
as objects to be abused or rivals to be defeated (Jones & Figueredo, 2013).
Those with dark personalities thrive when presented with opposing goals, relying
on dubious practices and evoking gamesmanship rules to steal the advantage from
their nemeses.
A
Dark Playground Entrenched in Lore
According
to Branson (2013), to secure funding for the mission of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), agents of the Behavior Science Unit invented the existence
of super predators to be uniquely dangerous villains (Jenkins, 2002) stoppable
only by a law enforcement agency equipped with the prognostication method of criminal
profiling.[1] FBI
agents, acting as advisors to the works of author Thomas Harris, romanticize the
idea that a damaging interplay occurs in interactions between interviewers and
their subjects. Interviewers are pulled from the brink of insignificance and
receive meaning from killers filled with implications for cases and, by
extension, their own lives. This folie à deux arises as retired agents are
coaxed to form symbiotic relationships with offenders via unorthodox methods that
eventually decimate their life. Because of the congenital appeal the presumed
infectious madness has on those in extended close proximity to serial homicide
offenders, such iconography continues to spawn fictional works (Gardiner, 2017)
which have precipitated a legion of dogmatic references to the necessity of
becoming a monster to catch one. Exaggerations in Kevin Williamson’s The Following, Neil Cross’ Luther, Eric Overmyer’s Bosch, Nic Pizzolatto's True Detective, Stieg Larsson’s Men
Who Hate Women and Joe Penhall’s Mindhunter
pale in comparison to Jo Nesbo’s The
Snowman which adheres to all of the fabled trappings designed to placate
fans: a completely insane killer that is never going to stop taunting or
playing games with the damaged detectives.
Due
to these depictions, the uninitiated perceive the process of meeting a serial
murderer as involving great sacrifice since interviewers allow offenders to
occupy their headspace. It should be noted that examiners do not become
disgruntled or disfigured by their respondents and even form friendships with
these killers (Bonn, 2014; Phelps, 2017). Some interrogators are gleeful at the
importance their work provides them and the effect such dealings have on their
friends and family (Williams, 2017). Society must determine if it owes a debt
to those claiming to possess unique insight – garnered not from a systematic
analysis of data (Northeastern University Atypical Homicide Research Group,
2017a) – often based on speculation (Byrne, 2017) or classified as erroneous
(Gerber, 2017). Such covenants have become profitable dalliances to promoters
with fictitious titles such as ‘criminal profiler” (Gerber, 2017; Mains, 2015; Snierson,
2017; X-G Productions, 2017), experts that command respect and expect adulation
for shouldering the supposed burden of exposure to serial offenders. By
securing access to multiple murderers, members of the profiles have transformed
this arena into an exclusive province and safeguarded their positions as
experts. DeLisi (2009) praises criminologists for their ability to study
antisocial behavior without expressing
contempt
or making value judgments about offenders but, because those that study and
pursue offenders are so intertwined with killers, such condemnations would
stand as an indictment of the shared attitudes maintained by the latter and
echoed by the former.
Turning
Perception Inward
Few
are employed to understand the abject suffering of others like LEOs,
journalists and professors. These groups may have initially gravitated towards
dark personalities to discern the meaning behind some undeveloped yet
detectable qualities within themselves but the observance of such a dichotomous
phenomenon as serial murder may have inadvertently imprinted parts of the
pursued upon the pursuers. Fallon (2014) pioneered the idea of turning
perception inward to unveil the commonalities shared between researchers and
psychopathic criminals. The belief that some might become murderers without the
proper structures in place has been further explored by others that claim all
have a latent capacity to kill under the right circumstances (Phelps, 2017). Some
in the expert fields may indeed rival serial murderers in feeling attracted to
death (Malizia, 2017) and experiencing excitement garnered from the discovery
of illicit images or stories of murder but symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (Chopko, Palmieri, & Adams, 2015; Kopel & Friedman, 1997),
burnout and compassion fatigue (Sollie, Kop, & Euwema, 2017) may be induced
in investigators not equipped with a dark personality. Psychometric testing
might uncover an immunity held by those harboring aspects of the profiles by deciphering
how they became hardened to human
suffering (Sollie et al., 2017), unresponsive to the intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in
thinking and mood, alterations in physical and emotional reactions (Center for
Substance Abuse Treatment, 2014) and ignorant to the instinct of being repulsed
by death (Malizia, 2017) experienced by the general population.
But
not all involved in the study and apprehension of serial murderers stay the
course. Some criminal justice students yearn to find themselves on the hunt for
the whereabouts of such offenders but most researchers move on to other topics
after publishing one or two articles on the topic (Dowden, 2005). Although leadership
roles on serial murder taskforces are avoided by LEOs[2],
even tangential exposure to this environment could engender a subsummation of
dark qualities (e.g., lack of empathy, assertion and egocentrism, use of
manipulation and being unconcerned by
the negative consequences of actions). More research is needed to coax out
which triggers and stressors urge dark personalities to cope with trauma by
responding with hostility. It is doubtful that other
professional fields of inquiry stimulate such inharmonious dispositions,
duplicity and discordant functions within operatives like in the expert fields.
Professors must collaborate with others while also generating enough unique
ideas to be considered independent investigators, LEOs are paid to actively
deceive others to meet their objectives and journalists are to remain secretive
of their sources while expecting others to trust them implicitly. Perhaps those
that have retired from the expert fields were cognizant that transformations can
produce anxiety such as loss of structure and isolation (Turnage, 2017). Those dedicating
their time to understanding serial offenders may have self-actualized and come
to accept that present in them are traits shared with killers. Reveling in the
gore and most gruesome aspects of death suits the expert fields, folks rarely committing
to projects for altruistic purposes, the love of science, or the advancement of
self-discovery. Such processes were the last vestiges before the expert fields surrendered
to the burgeoning entertainment complex.
No
Fear of the Dark
Several
fixtures of popular culture – Harry
Potter, Iron Maiden, The Legend of
Zelda, Twin Peaks and Stranger Things
– have juxtaposed light and dark, each remarking on those dual influences on the
inhabitants of those universes. Society has slowly awoken to the existence of what
lies in wait through these mediums. The expert fields of this world have been
trying for decades to engineer an interest in crime as recreation and cultivate
a desire to connect to its storytellers. In necessitating an attraction to
serial offenders, the expert fields fleshed out their careers long before movie
stars attached themselves to serial murderers when reclassifying their roles
from novice newbies to serious actors (Ford & Kit, 2017; Lovitt, 2016;
Stack, 2017). Fascination with the devastation wrought by violent offenders may
be explained by a need to satiate the call from within to locate likeminded
people and capitulate to an equal sense of belonging. The urge to form a
fanbase dedicated to the exploits of murderers and rapists (Bond, 2016)
suggests that the origins of psychopathy extend beyond biology and heritable
genes: the disorder may be a learned response to contagious external stimuli. The
communicable spread of dark characteristics does run counter to the established
myth of the solitary disposition attributed to the offenders at the center of such
fawning.
Some
measure of dissonance enables fans to label offenders as otherworldly beings,
celebrate the actions of dark personalities and avoid direct comparison with
their own commensurate behavior. As originators of monetizing the expedition
for higher status, many in the expert fields openly embrace the creation of games
(Britto, 2017; Sykes, 2017), true crime summer camps (Pettler, 2017),
“profiling” classes (Mellor, 2017), escape rooms (Moss, 2017), tangible merchandise
(Hafford, 2017), conventions (Fitzpatrick, 2017), podcasts (Palmer, 2017) and
homicide hunk type personalities (DiscoveryID, 2017) – exploitative services purposely
catering to an ever widening collective eager to ingest anything related to the
criminal justice system, even if most products merely repackage criminal cases
from past eras for new audiences. The ubiquity of podcasters and cold case “analysts”
endowing true crime aficionados with titillating tales on the pitfalls suffered
by prior homicide victims under the guise of providing actionable advice arises
from our need to have complex topics reduced to consumable constructs
(Colin-Thome, 2017). Only the darkest personalities can mine the experiences of
those whose lives were taken to highlight potential mistakes. The worst and
most desperate attempts to placate fans, though, result in feigned existential
crises meant to enhance the author’s account of near consumption by the abyss (Kaplan,
2017; Mallie, Aguiar, Mendez, & Clark, 2017; McNamara, 2018; Williamson,
2017; Quinn, 2017). If authors were scarred by such proximal distance to
depravity, why traumatize the public by subjecting them to these accounts if
not to appear heroic for emerging unscathed?
Calling
for Consideration as the Old Guard Mounts to Ensure It Does Not Come Up Again
Since
culture is the byproduct of clashing personalities and differences,
the mores and customs beset by those shaping a field in its infancy are often more
indelible than at Fortune 500 companies. Nowhere are there more confrontational
encounters and conflict than among stakeholders in making murder profitable. Several
members of the expert fields have lent their voice to efforts that reinforce
the tropes related to how serial murderers function and operate, dutiful
servants reflexively progressing archaic theories with the expectation that
such stagnant ramblings are owed renown. But these actions allow the ethos
surrounding serial killers to endure beyond the current age of myth busting and
stereotype dismantling. Those that mold and shape how offenders
are scrutinized fortify their standpoints with the fierceness and solemnity
reserved for those answering to a self-imposed higher calling. Within such an
insular world, Edwards and Roy (2017) wonder what kind of profession is being
creating for the next generation as perverse incentives and hypercompetition
have given rise to misconduct and a reduction of scientific progress. Those
without what are deemed proper qualifications are segregated and forced to
prove their worth through meritorious service frequently benefiting the
arbiters.
Up
to this point, retention of talented and spirited members of the expert fields
has depended upon the interplay between their willingness to continue
traditions rooted in legend and their own resilience when treated improperly. The
Northeastern University Atypical Homicide Research Group (NUAHRG) was created
to correct decades of misinformation and construct deep collaborations to
supersede those begun by the profiles (Northeastern University Atypical
Homicide Research Group, 2017b). Adventurous investigators should be given
opportunities to explore novel techniques (Yaksic, 2017b) and avenues (Keatley,
Marono, Reid, Yaksic, & Clarke, 2017) in interstitial science (Greenleaf,
2017) without the threat of reprisal from colleagues. Instead of struggling to
reincorporate emotional intelligence into callous brains (Hagerty, 2017), the
NUAHRG forum comforts those with vulnerabilities that were initially drawn to
and subsequently exploited by dark personalities (Black et al., 2014). The
application of dispositional empathy is critical when enticing prospective
contributors to overlook a history of mistreatment. Gobry (2016) calls for the
career track for science to be delivered back to mavericks from the elder
careerists so often rewarded for forcing the youngest scientists to kowtow to
their theories to avoid professional risk. Without the injection of new and
righteous energy, the expert fields will be in dire straits for decades to
come.
Society
is banding together to hold industries accountable for their erroneous ways and
salacious behaviors (Reader, 2017). It is time for the expert fields to
celebrate those challenging regnant paradigms and embodying the spirit of
science (Gobry, 2016), to do away with the bias of hostile attribution (Paulhus
et al., 2018), to admonish those writing exhibitionistic and superfluous
memoirs (Miller, 2017) and abolish the profiles, scrubbing the historical
record of their abuses. Psychopathy is more prevalent in community samples than
once hypothesized (Sest & March, 2017; Paulhus et al., 2018) meaning that
it may be the dominant trait of the dark tetrad and hold a superordinate
position over the malicious yet subordinate features of narcissism and
Machiavellianism (Muris, et al., 2017). Since almost two thirds of the
publications on the dark tetrad appeared in recent years (Muris et al., 2017),
this area of inquiry remains fertile ground for new discoveries such as the
role influences such as circuit dysregulation (Hosking,
Kastman, Dorfman, Samanez-Larkin, Baskin-Sommers, Kiehl, Newman, &
Buckholtz, 2017) or enhanced potency to lie (Shao, & Lee, 2017) might play in
the maladaptive decision making process of psychopaths. To
properly address the identity crisis discussed in this review, the expert
fields must disentangle from the pull of the dark traits and ironically give
into the period of darkness called ‘via negativa’, a silence and fasting of the
soul allowing for new growth and maturation of the human spirit (Seaward, 2014).
A former agent of the FBI stated that arrogance and narcissism were fatal
traits held by many killers that led to their demise (Gerber, 2017). The expert
fields may be doomed to suffer the same fate by repeating patterns from the
past and being unwilling to reform.
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[1] The fabled
abilities of this organization are so ingrained into societal fabric that it
has been intimated that the Long Island Serial Killer case languished
unresolved because the FBI was initially shut out (Killoran, 2016).
[2] Andreu, N. (5
May 2017). Research assistance. Message posted to NUAHRG electronic mailing
list. Archived at yaksic.e@alumni.neu.edu
