Criminal profiling on TV and in real life with Dr. Alexandra Zidenberg
Mind Full: The Canadian Psychological Association podcastShow Notes
Criminal profiling, in the sense that we see it on TV, has less than a 50% success rate. As a tool of law enforcement, it is the equivalent of a coin flip. But seeing law enforcement use it successfully on television gives us, the viewers, a sense that these methods yield tremendous results in real life. And, maybe, makes us believe that we would be successful should we be given a similar task. Dr. Alexandra Zidenberg from the University of Montreal joins Mind Full to talk about a recent study she did with undergraduate student Vivian Mullins in RMC's Department of Military Psychology and Leadership. How much does binge-watching Criminal Minds enhance our ability to profile a suspect? Do true-crime podcasts (which usually deal with crimes that have been solved) skew our beliefs about the effectiveness of law enforcement?
Dr. Zidenberg's study with Vivian Mullins, written up in the CPA Criminal Justice Section’s Crime Scene newsletter: https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Sections/Criminal%20Justice%20Psychology/Crime%20Scene_SpringSummer2025_correction.pdf
Other articles of note:
Taking Stock of Criminal Profiling: A Narrative Review and Meta-Analysis https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093854806296925 Do We Mistake Fiction for Fact? Investigating Whether the Consumption of Fictional Crime-Related Media May Help to Explain the Criminal Profiling Illusion https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440221091243 Expertise in Psychological Profiling: A Comparative Assessment https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/088626000015003006 Media Effects and Criminal Profiling: How Fiction Influences Perception and Profile Accuracy https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1205&context=fse_etd/
The Hunting Warhead podcast (which really is VERY good): https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/387-hunting-warhead
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