HOMICIDAL FANTASIES

Actual homicides may be considered the tip of an iceberg, reflecting e volved coercive impulses and motivations found in normal individuals a s well as the criminally violent. Two studies examined reports of homi cidal fantasies in normal subjects. In the first study, subjects were asked whether they had ever had a homicidal fantasy, and if so, they w ere asked several questions about their most recent fantasy. In the se cond study, subjects were asked about the frequency of homicidal fanta sies in several categories. The majority of subjects in both studies r eported at least one fantasy. Males tended to recall more homicidal fa ntasies than did females (in Study 1, 73% vs 66%; in Study 2, 79% vs 5 8% of males and females, respectively). Males also reported longer and more detailed fantasies, and were more likely to imagine strangers an d coworkers as victims. Females' recent fantasies were more likely to involve family members than were males, but that appears to be due to the fact that males had more fantasies about members of other categori es, and not due to a tendency for males to have fewer homicidal fantas ies about family members than do females. There was some evidence of g reater fantasies involving step-parents, especially when one considere d the amount of time subjects had spent living with step-, as opposed to genetic, parents. Results are discussed in terms of Daly and Wilson 's evolutionary model of actual homicides.