Dexter was a popular series on Showtime that allowed audiences to appreciate - and even admire - a vigilante serial killer. Many psychologists and fans of the show have weighed in about Dexter’s profile and how accurate (or inaccurate) the character is.
The series ran for eight seasons on Showtime from 2006-2013. The focal point of the series is vigilante serial killer, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), who works as a forensics bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department. Dexter was raised by a police officer - his foster father, Harry Morgan (James Remar) - and his foster sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) is also a cop. This allows him to work from the inside. From there, he is able to carry out his foster father’s education which taught him to channel his killer instincts toward taking out the bad guys, or criminals who manage to slip through the system’s cracks without receiving proper justice.
While the premise made for an intriguing show, the larger discussion involves the character of Dexter himself, who - throughout the series - went from someone who couldn’t feel love to a married man, a father, a boyfriend, and expressed a great deal of fondness for his sister and others. In fact, many of his later actions in the series were to protect people he cared about, which isn’t common for a psychopath or sociopath. Therefore, it begs the question: how accurate is Dexter?
Dexter: What Psychologists Say About The Serial Killer
In an interview with The Guardian, psychopath expert Kevin Dutton weighed in on the fictional serial killer’s profile. Dutton said that there were many aspects of the character that were traditionally associated with, and accurate about, the development of serial killers or those who are classified as psychopaths or sociopaths. The Macdonald triad suggests that three persistent signs in children - frequent bed wetting past the age of five, a drive to set fires, and cruelty to animals - can predict violent tendencies that can become serial, or be predictive of someone becoming a serial killer, later in life. This line of thinking hasn’t been as validated with modern psychological development, but is still taught. Dutton said that Dexter’s cruelty to animals at a young age was accurate and speaks to a budding psychopath’s lack of empathy. His charm and ability to lie and conceal is, per Dutton, also accurate based on what is known of serial killers, such as Ted Bundy.
Dutton explained that Dexter’s intelligence isn’t always typical with psychopaths; those who are raised in a different environment, such as in poverty, with limited resources, or without access to good schools might end up being part of a gang or channel their psychopathic tendencies in different ways than someone who got an Ivy League education. Beyond that, Dutton said, “The voiceover that runs through each episode, with Dexter analysing his actions, strikes me as unlikely. Most psychopaths aren’t interested in applying that degree of self-knowledge. And he seems very attached to his family, especially his sister, which is unusual.” There are many theories circulating around what Dexter actually is: someone traumatized by PTSD in childhood which led to depersonalization, a psychopath/sociopath, or perhaps someone who was manipulated by a narcissistic father.
The book, The Psychology of Dexter, which was written by Bella DePaulo, PhD, has an interesting hypothesis that was further explained by Jeremy Clyman, Psy.D, on Psychology Today. Clyman explains that Dexter’s serial killer tendencies could have been manipulated by Harry, in a “narcissistic family” structure. According to Clyman, many interpretations of Harry’s treatment of young Dexter were positive, but upon further analysis, this might not be the case. According to Clyman, “Tell-tale signs include a pervasive desire to please others, a chronic need for external validation, confusion over one’s own identity, and difficulties identifying and expressing emotions like anger.” This certainly sounds a lot like Dexter, particularly in later seasons when he married Rita (Julie Benz) and had a son. While Dexter may not be completely accurate, it’s not completely inaccurate, either.
Next: Dexter: The 10 Most Heartbreaking Deaths, Ranked
