The Psychology of Dexter - Bella DePaulo [0]
Other Titles in the Psychology of Series
Title Page
Introduction
PREDATOR ON THE PROWL
Psychopathy: Dexter’s Disconnect
Pass the Shrink Wrap, Please: The Organized Homicidal Offender
Dex, Sex, and Sadism
RETHINKING DEXTER
The Misdiagnosis
The Trouble with the Psychopathic Label
Childhood Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
The Anti-Self: Identifying with the Aggressor
The Critical Inner Voice
Projection of a Parent’s Negative Traits
Intergenerational Trauma
Effective Therapies
NAUGHTY BY NATURE, DEXTER BY DESIGN
Nature and Nurture
Creating a Monster
All in the Family
Beyond Nature
The Importance of Harry
The Butterfly Effect
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DEXTER’S KILLS
Modus Operandi
The Signature
Victimology
The Nail in the Coffin
DECEPTION: IT’S WHAT DEXTER DOES BEST (WELL, SECOND BEST)
Lying in the Lives of Ordinary Humans
The Dexter Morgan Show: The Writer/Director Tries to Make It Unremarkable
What Makes Dexter Such an Extraordinarily Successful Liar?
NO EMOTIONS? NO PROBLEM
NO CONSCIENCE? NO PROBLEM
DEXTER’S NO DUMMY
Rita, Deb, and All His Colleagues and Friends: Dexter’s Unwitting Enablers
Dexter’s Cousins in Crime
THE SCIENTIST AND THE SERIAL KILLER
The Compensation Model: Does Dexter Compensate?
The Segmentation Model: Leaving Work at Work
The Spillover Model: Blood Isn’t the Messiest Thing, After All . . .
Season Four
ON BECOMING A REAL BOY
Born in Blood or Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?
Dramatically Deceptive Dexter
The Mask Is Slipping
THE ANGELS ON HIS SHOULDER
Camilla: The Invisible Mother
Debra: The Better Half
Rita: The Infiltrator
THE DARK PASSENGER IN ALL OF US
Freud, Jung, and the Psychology of Evil
Jungian Psychology
Freud’s Id, Ego, and Superego
THE DARK DEFENDERS
Denial
Sublimation
Intellectualization
Identification
The Dark Defender: Dexter’s Mind
How Will It End?
IT’S ALL ABOUT HARRY
Personality and Behavioral Traits of Adult Children of Narcissistic Families
Elements of a Narcissistic Family System
Healing
THE KILLER WITHIN
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
RITA’S ROCKY RELATIONSHIPS
Abusive Relationships
Rita’s Post-Traumatic Stress
The Ghost of Abuse Past
Dexter’s Psychological Abuse
DENIAL AND RITA
Is Rita Really Unaware of the Dark Passenger? Her Motives
But Do We Like Her? Rita’s Connection With Viewers
Rita, Women, and Aggression
Final Analysis: Crime and Punishment
WHY PSYCHOPATHS LIKE DEXTER AREN’T REALLY ALL THAT BAD
FASTER, DEXTER! KILL! KILL!
Rooting for Dexter in the Moment
Reflecting on a Serial Killer
BEING DEXTER MORGAN
Copyright Page
Other Titles in the Psychology of Series
The Psychology of The Simpsons
The Psychology of Survivor
The Psychology of Harry Potter
The Psychology of Superheroes
The Psychology of Joss Whedon
INTRODUCTION:
FOR THE LOVE OF DEXTER
BELLA DEPAULO
Dexter may well be one of the most psychologically delicious treats in television history. We love Dexter. We root for him, season after season.
But he’s a killer—a serial killer! Why do we relish Dexter so much? And why don’t we at least feel guilty about our love? Is it because Dex is so unlike us that we don’t worry others might misinterpret our interest in him as a sign of our own darkness? Or is the dynamic something much different—that we all have a wisp of Dex’s Dark Passenger within us? As fans who identify with our twisted hero, do we get to let our own demons out to play an hour a week, knowing that it’s not for real and no one will actually get hurt?
I’ve tried to talk about Dexter to all sorts of people. Some I just know will be interested. They are the people who read true crime books and watch other murder-filled movies and TV shows. What stuns me, though, is when I discover, time and again, that Dexter has resonated with people who simply don’t fit that mold. What is it about the hero and the show that is so powerful?
Dexter is a feast