What exactly is ‘creative evil’?
Corinna Perchtold-Stefan: It refers to creativity that is deliberately used to harm others. It is precisely this originality that often makes such actions particularly effective. When something is unexpected and does not fit into familiar patterns, people and systems find it harder to respond to it. An everyday example is attempted fraud: you can spot a clumsy phishing email straight away. But if messages are tailored very specifically using publicly available information, we’re more likely to believe them. That’s precisely why this form of creativity is both interesting and dangerous from a research perspective.
Creativity and empathy are generally regarded as positive qualities. Can they also have a dark side?
Perchtold-Stefan: Yes. Empathy does not automatically mean that someone acts compassionately. Some people are very good at assessing others cognitively: What is the other person thinking? What do they react to? How can I flatter them? This ability can also be used to manipulate people in a targeted way. It’s similar with creativity. At first, it’s simply a skill. What matters is what it’s used for.
Why are we fascinated by brilliant con artists, manipulative personalities or criminals in the first place?
Perchtold-Stefan: The extraordinary captures our attention. In spectacular cases, we want to understand how something like that could have happened and how a person came up with a particular idea. Added to this is a psychological need to reduce uncertainty. When we understand how an act was carried out, it creates – at least subjectively – the feeling that we’ll be better prepared next time. With some crimes, there’s also a certain element of romanticisation, for example when the harm remains abstract or when perpetrators are portrayed as particularly charming in films and other media. If you look at the crime in detail, it often appears far less glamorous.
So is it mainly certain personality types who commit evil acts?
Perchtold-Stefan: No. It’s important to me not to immediately explain every problematic behaviour using overused terms like narcissism or psychopathy. People can act harmfully under certain circumstances without having any psychological disorders. That is precisely why I’m also interested in the role of the environment. In a working environment where rule-breaking is rewarded and a strong group mentality develops, what people consider acceptable can gradually shift. So the question is not just: Who are we? But also: What effect do certain environments have on us?
Can an evil thought alone turn into an evil deed?
Perchtold-Stefan: You have to make a clear distinction between these two things. Many people have aggressive thoughts, fantasies of revenge or develop dark scenarios in their professional lives – crime writers, for example. That doesn’t mean they act on these ideas. There are many other factors between an idea and an action: motivation, opportunity, justification, emotions, the reaction of those around us and, of course, our own self-regulation. The field of research into malevolent creativity is still very young, having only been around for about 20 years. We are therefore not yet able to say, for every possible scenario, exactly when an idea actually tips over into behaviour.
Why did you want to write a book on this topic for a wide audience?
Perchtold-Stefan: I wanted to make research accessible outside of academic texts and combine it with real-life cases, everyday psychology and a touch of humour. At the same time, I’d like to dispel a few common misconceptions. Science doesn’t always have to take place in a high-tech laboratory. Good research can make do with simple means, provided the research question and methodology are sound. For me, part of science communication is explaining what we’re actually researching, how we go about it, and what society can do with the results.
The book *Das kreative Böse* (208 pages) will be published on 7 October 2026 by Brandstätter Verlag.
