IRC-Galleria

The purpose of this study is to learn more about the relationship between personality and the way in which people make sense of true crime stories. You'll be asked to fill out a personality questionnaire and read and answer questions about a story describing a serial killer. When you are finished, the program will summarize some of the responses we have obtained to date.


Please rate these items with respect to how you generally see yourself.

1. I see myself as someone who is . . . sympathetic, warm.
Agree


2. I see myself as someone who is . . . calm, emotionally stable.
Strongly Agree


3. I see myself as someone who is . . . open to new experiences, complex.
Agree


4. I see myself as someone who is . . . conventional, uncreative.
Disagree


5. I see myself as someone who is . . . reserved, quiet.
Agree


6. I see myself as someone who is . . . extraverted, enthusiastic.
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree


7. I see myself as someone who is . . . critical, quarrelsome.
Agree


8. I see myself as someone who is . . . disorganized, careless.
Strongly Agree


9. I see myself as someone who is . . . dependable, self-disciplined.
Strongly Agree


10. I see myself as someone who is . . . anxious, easily upset.
Strongly Disagree


In this section we would like for you to read the following crime report. Please read it carefully because we will ask you questions about it as you go along.

Segment 1 of 3

Stacey Ann Hollingsworth was a 21 year old college student majoring in psychology. One day in January, 1974, she didn't show up for work and was never heard from again. During that summer, more young women vanished.

In August of that summer, remains of several missing women were found in a local park, including those of Amanda Smithers and Sally Johansen. Their corpses showed evidence of torture, with rope marks visible around their wrists and ankles. Their legs had various cuts and markings on them, indicating that the girls had been dragged for a distance through the woods.

The last people to have seen Sally Johansen earlier that summer, a couple picnicking in the park, remembered a man approaching the young woman. Overhearing the conversation, the couple later reported he made a comment about having difficulty loading something into a car because of a broken arm. The individual asked Sally for assistance and she agreed to help. That was the last time Sally Johansen was seen alive. Amanda Smithers was also spending the day with her friends in the park. She left to go to the restroom and was never seen again.


Given the information you have so far, how likely is it that the girls were killed by the same person?
likely


Segment 2 of 3

It was in early November, 1974, when police got a break in their case of unsolved murders. That evening, an 18 year old girl, Ginger Logan, was approached in a book store at a Utah mall. The man told her he was a mall security guard and that someone had tried to break into her car. She checked her car and said that everything appeared to be there, but he told her she needed to go to the police station to file a complaint.

She started to become wary when, after getting in the man's car, he began to drive in the opposite direction of the police station. Soon, he stopped the car and suddenly grabbed Ginger and tried to put handcuffs on her. Ginger screamed and the guard pulled out a handgun and threatened to kill her if she didn't stop. Ginger found herself falling out of the car and then suddenly pushed up against the side of it by the aggressor. He snapped the handcuffs onto her wrist and then held her arms behind her back. Still holding her against the car, he began ripping at the buttons on her shirt. She screamed and he jammed his elbow into her stomach, causing her to double over and fall to the ground. Quickly climbing on top of her, he started to unzip his jeans when he was suddenly caught in the glare of headlights.

As he stared at the oncoming car, unsure what to do, Ginger was able to break free and run towards the road. An elderly couple was in the car, and she hysterically told them someone had tried to kill her. Her assailant quickly sped away, and the couple took her to the police station.


Given the information you have so far, what would you guess the killer's age to be?
40 years


Segment 3 of 3

In January of the next year, Jennifer Kline took a trip to Arizona with a group of friends. While relaxing in the lounge of the hotel, she realized she had forgotten a book and she and her friend Julie returned to their room to retrieve it. As they were approaching the door to their room, a man quickly came at them and, before they had time to react, pulled out a knife. He quickly forced the two women into the room and closed the door behind them. Threatening to kill them if they screamed, he told Julie to go into the bathroom and Jennifer to lay down on the bed. Pulling rope out of his pocket, he tied Jennifer's hands together and then began undoing the buttons on her pants.

Julie cowered in the bathroom, unable to run for fear he would kill her friend. She heard sobbing and after awhile, everything was quiet. Slowly the door opened, and the man stood there, his white shirt splattered with red spots. He beckoned for Julie to come out and as she did, she saw her friend lying on the bed, with a gaping wound in her neck. She didn't appear to be alive. Julie's shriek pierced the air, startling her attacker. As she ran for the door, he reached for her but missed. She quickly opened the door and ran outside. The man pushed past her and ran down the other end of the hall. The police later arrived and searched the hotel in vain. Jennifer was pronounced dead.

Later that year, police officers spotted a car that matched the description of a vehicle seen in the area of some of the murders. When they pulled the driver over, the officer found several suspicious items in the car's trunk, including a ski mask, rope, handcuffs, wire, and a crowbar.

Witnesses, including Ginger Logan and Julie, were later taken to the police station to identify the suspect held behind bars. On July 23, 1979, after six hours of deliberation, the jury convicted the attacker and recommended the death penalty. When the individual's confessions finally came out, they left everyone in disgust. The details about clubbing victims to death, sexually violating them and strangling them were horrifying to the public. Investigators linked the man to over forty murders. When the volts of electricity came on February 16, 1989, it seemed that justice had finally been served.


Given the information you have, do you think the suspect was convicted beyond a reasonable doubt?
Very likely



1. How much gore did you feel was in this story?
Very Much


2. Would you enjoy reading more stories like this?
Much


3. Did you worry before reading this story that what happened to the victims could one day happen to you?
Very Little


4. How likely would you be to recommend this story to friends?
Little


5. Did you enjoy reading this story?
Very Much


6. Do you feel like you learned anything from this story?
Very Little


7. Do you feel worried after reading the story that something like what happened to the victims could one day happen to you?
Very Little


8. How much sympathy did you feel for the murderer in this story?
Very Little


9. How much sympathy did you feel for the victims in this story?
50-50

---

According to these data, women readers are more likely to enjoy the story if the killer is more dominant. Male readers, however, are also more likely to enjoy the story if the killer is more dominant

The scores for each scale range from 1 (low) to 7 (high). Your scores are as follows:
extraversion = 4, agreeableness = 4, conscientiousness = 4, neuroticism = 2, and openness = 6.