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