The fascination of true crime

“Guilty as charged”

Symbolic image

(Bild: ERWIN SCHERIAU / APA / picturedesk.com)

The enthusiasm surrounding the topic of "true crime" is unbroken. Graz psychologists are now researching the attraction of true crime. Is it perhaps even helpful in overcoming anxiety? 

There has long been great public interest in true crime cases. Studies in the Anglo-American region have recognized that the fascination for criminals and their deeds primarily affects women. Now a team of psychologists from the University of Graz has also looked into the phenomenon of "true crime" and confirmed this thesis for Austria.

The result of the online survey, which included around 600 people, is clear: yes, it is mainly women who are captivated by true crime. While men spend an average of four hours a week listening to true crime podcasts or watching documentaries and series on the subject, women spend around seven hours a week. In other words, almost twice as much. 

True crime fans show a greater ability to deal with anxiety and stress in everyday life.

Corinna Perchtold-Stefan

The survey was primarily concerned with the motives for dealing with real criminal cases. "75 percent of respondents said they wanted to understand the psychology behind the terrible deeds. 30 percent cited general curiosity as their motivation, and just under 28 percent a fundamental interest in the justice system, police work and criminal investigations," says project manager Corinna Perchtold-Stefan. 

True crime as an antidote to fear
"Guilty as charged," admits the psychologist when asked whether she herself is a fan of true crime. Her own interest led her to take a closer look at the subject. The increasing popularity of the genre ultimately prompted her to start her first true crime study.

Together with her team, Perchtold-Stefan was able to establish that many of those surveyed also get a certain feeling of security from the crime stories. They want to understand the perpetrators' backgrounds and resolve their insecurities. "Dealing with the crime, trying to understand it, makes the danger more tangible and therefore more bearable. It conveys the feeling of knowing the threat and therefore being better prepared for it in everyday life," explains Perchtold-Stefan.

Project manager Corinna Perchtold-Stefan

(Bild: Corinna Perchtold-Stefan)

For the first time, MR scans were created and analyzed as part of a study on this topic. 130 of the 600 participants in the online survey volunteered to take part. The examinations were so-called resting measurements, in which brain activity was observed in a resting state. "We saw that the participants had a particularly high number of connections in the regions associated with the need to experience, learn and understand new things," says the psychologist. The researchers were also able to identify the same in the brain regions associated with a sense of justice, empathy and moral reasoning. 

More crime, please
Perchtold-Stefan's next goal is a long-term study on the topic: "We want to observe how experience and behavior, the sense of security, aggressiveness and the handling of emotions develop over the years." The "Horror as creative emotion regulation" project therefore primarily aims to clarify the long-term effects of true crime consumption. The psychologist wants to investigate whether these might even be positive in terms of coping with anxiety and stress over a period of two years. The empirical study is scheduled to start in 2026 and will follow both crime fans and non-fans in order to be able to identify, compare and analyze the effects of regular brain scans in the best possible way.