The Murderer Next Door Summary

The Murderer Next Door, written by evolutionary psychologist David M. Buss (2005), argues that murder actually has a valuable evolutionary function to humans, as opposed to being a maladaptive sign of illness, as is often believed. Buss earned his doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley, and he taught at Harvard. He has also taught at the University of Texas for over a decade, and he has published widely on various psychology topics, many of them involving violence. As such, he does seem very well qualified to write this book. The major topic that the author addresses is the root cause of murder; he points out that though he had once believed murderers to be aberrant and mentally ill, he realized that this was actually not the case

after seeing a good friend of his develop murderous impulses toward the friend’s wife, at a party. This incident sparked Buss to become fascinated with the phenomenon of murder and to begin researching it. Buss came to realize, he claims, that it is usually mentally typical, relatively healthy people who murder others, spurred by circumstance or heightened emotion. As Buss’s theory conflicts with much of what is commonly believed about murder, inside of the field of psychology and outside of it, this is an intriguing and very psychologically relevant premise. However, though Buss offers an engaging premise and some very compelling evidence, this premise is not adequately supported for the argument to be strong and entirely convincing.
To begin with, Buss argues that murder is a normal and adaptive trait, claiming that all humans have the capacity for murder under certain circumstances, which may also vary from person to person. However, according to the author, the triggers of murder frequently involve sexual jealousy, and he writes:
Seven years of near-obsessive subsequent research into murder has led me to the conclusion that, yes, the human mind has developed adaptations for killing—deeply ingrained patterns of thought, often accompanied by internal dialogue, anchored in powerful emotions—that motivate us to murder. (p. 16)
Buss supports his ideas with not only a large-scale research study, but also with interviews, statistics, and case studies, as well as the research of forensic psychologists. While much of his argument does seem plausible and is supported by the evidence he provides, some claims and elements are not supported or clarified very well, or seem rather general, which ultimately weakens the entire argument. For example, Buss claims that “men indicate an increased willingness to kill as their mating prospects become dire,” (p. 36) seeming to place a great emphasis on the desire for men to reproduce and widely spread their genetics in explaining sexual possessiveness as a component in many murders. This idea seems rather general, and could be better nuanced by the author with additional explanation. At points, Buss seems to simply assume that the reader will accept generalized, widely-circulated ideas within evolutionary psychology without further qualification or evidence.
Another major flaw in the book is that Buss does not address sociopathy or psychopathology at any length, which creates a gap in the discussion about beliefs pertaining to murder.

As his goal is to show murder as an act on the extreme end of normal human behavior, it does make sense that he would focus most of his discussion on normality and its relationship to murder, as well as the evolutionary mechanisms that he believes have led to this behavior. However, to dissuade the reader of existing dominant paradigms about murder, it would also better serve his argument to focus more on typical beliefs circulated about murder, as this would help him to argue against these paradigms and to then better prove his point to his

readers.
However, the personal accounts in the book are perhaps its most effective feature, as the accounts place the reader in the minds of essentially “normal” people who have nonetheless experienced murderous impulses, explaining in detail what led to these feelings and exactly how close these seemingly normal individuals came to committing murder.

Cases feature such extreme examples as stalking ex-boyfriends and close friends who have disrupted intimate relationships through telling lies about infidelity. In these cases, the reader can identify with the person telling the story, placing himself or herself in the teller’s position and identifying with the extreme emotions involved and, perhaps, the desire to murder. It is this feature that then most effectively supports Buss’s argument about normality and evolutionary function and permits connection with the reader in his text. Though the statistics and other evidence show some compelling support, the link to Buss’s claims is not always as clear as it is in the personal accounts, which do seem to support the idea of mentally healthy people being those who most often murder, as opposed to the severely mentally

ill.
All in all, Buss offers readers a compelling argument that is, unfortunately, not always well supported by his evidence. His premise is interesting and plausible, and his major claim is very relevant to psychology. However, because his links to much of his evidence are somewhat loose, the book is better read as entertainment for those who are interested in psychology than as solid information. I would recommend this book to others who are interested in topics of murder or violence, but I would recommend that they read other, more conclusive books on these subjects first, in order to better contextualize Buss’s argument. Ultimately, Buss has attempted to show his readers that murder is a natural, evolutionary function, one most frequently tied to sexual jealousy, but he does not conclusively support this claim. What is left is a thoughtful, interesting work of speculation. As it is, the exact reasoning for murder, generally, is not known. To this end, Buss definitely provides food for thought, suggesting some dark insight about human nature.