Suzyjackson, I know you did not address your post to me. I think EA's reluctance to talk at this time could have a lot to do with the death penalty because both he and his lawyer would be clear on the risk. However, I do also think the he may actually get pleasure from Christina's family suffering and not knowing where she is. I know that this is probably a minority view, but my sense of him is that he is quite a grievance collector and that he may feel that he is the one who has been badly treated. Most people would see this as irrational. However, I do not feel that he is in anyway insane. That is just the sense of him I got from the interview he gave in his home. My opinion only. (Not a shrink!)
Funny, DT, someone just posted about this in a Jodi Arias thread and it made me think of EA. (I can't find the original post as there are way too many to look through)
Victim Mentality
Victim mentality is an acquired (learned) personality trait in which a person tends to regard him or herself as a victim of the negative actions of others, and to think, speak and act as if that were the case
even in the absence of clear evidence. It depends on habitual thought processes and attribution.
Victim mentality is primarily learned, for example,
from family members and situations during childhood. It contrasts with the psychologically better-researched traits of neuroticism and psychoticism, both of which have a stronger biological or genetic basis. Neuroticism may be defined as general emotional instability or a generally enhanced tendency to experience negative emotions. Psychoticism is characterised by hostility and aggression.
What victim mentality, neuroticism and psychoticism have in common is a relatively high frequency of negative emotional states such as anger, sadness, and fear. But these three traits are also partially independent: for example a given individual may have a high degree of victim mentality and a low degree of neuroticism, in which case a clinical psychologist is unlikely to regard her or him as needing treatment. Conversely, a given individual may have a high degree of neuroticism and a low degree of victim mentality.
In the most general sense, a victim is anyone who experiences injury, loss, or misfortune as a result of some event or series of events. This experience, however, is insufficient for the emergence of a sense of victimhood.
It has been suggested that individuals define themselves as a victim if they believe that:
*they were harmed;
*they were not responsible for the occurrence of the harmful act;
*they were under no obligation to prevent the harm;
*the harm constituted an injustice in that it violated their rights (if inflicted by a person) and/or in that they possessed qualities (e.g., strength or goodness of character) making them persons whom that harm did not befit
*they deserve sympathy.
The desire of sympathy is crucial in that the mere experience of a harmful event is not enough for the emergence of the sense of being a victim. In order to have this sense there is the need to perceive the harm as undeserved, unjust and immoral, an act that could not be prevented by the victim. The need to obtain empathy can then emerge.
<snip>
A victim mentality may be reflected by linguistic markers or habits, such as pretending:
*not to be able to do something ("I can't..."),
*not to have choices ("I must..."), or
*not to know the answer to a question ("I don't know").
[^^^
Sounds familiar, huh?^^^]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victim_mentality
