The Council of Executives of State and Provincial Psychological Associations (CESPPA) Presents:
The Desperate Identities of Dangerous Men: Understanding Mass Attackers by Understanding Personality Disorders
Presenters: Dr. Peter Langman
Date & Time: Â Friday, January 30th, 2026 from 1:00 PM – 4:15 Â PM Eastern Daylight Time
Location: Live Via Zoom (Link will be emailed the week prior to the event)
*LIVE only, this webinar will NOT be recorded.
Cost:Â
$75 for CPA Members (LOG IN TO YOUR CPA ACCOUNT TO ACCESS)
$150 for Non-Members
Continuing Education: Eligible for 3 CE Credits, Instructional Level: Intermediate
Please review our webinar tips and CE eligibility guidelines prior to the day of the webinar.
Abstract:
How do we make sense of mass attackers? All too often, we focus on things that happened to them: school shooters were bullied, workplace attackers were terminated, and so on. Yet, most people who experience such stressors do not become killers. Such explanations fail to consider who the people were that these things happened to. In other words, personality is often ignored as a factor in violence.
Though there is no profile of a mass attacker, there are common personality traits that occur in a wide range of perpetrators. One commonality is that they are psychologically fragile people with profound vulnerabilities. How these vulnerabilities manifest, however, varies dramatically. Using the work of Theodore Millon and other personality researchers, this presentation examines critical dynamics that shed light on the psychology of mass killers.
The presentation will begin with a brief overview of Millon’s model of personality and how it differs from DSM-5-TR. Following this, several personality disorders will be discussed. Each will be illustrated through the writings of perpetrators, highlighting how the traits increase the risk of violence. Understanding the dynamics of these perpetrators can aid in identifying people who may be on the path to violence.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Explain the connection between psychological fragility and violent behavior
2. Describe two personality processes which can lead to people becoming more prone to violence
3. List three personality disorders common in violent perpetrators
Presenter Biography
Peter Langman, Ph.D.
Dr. Peter Langman is a psychologist whose research on school shooters has received international recognition. His book, Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters, was translated into German, Dutch, Finnish, Russian, and Serbian. His work has been cited in congressional testimony on Capitol Hill and he has been interviewed over 600 times by media outlets in 35 countries. After the Sandy Hook attack, the CEO of the American Psychological Association presented Dr. Langman’s recommendations on school safety to President Obama. He has presented at both the FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC, and the FBI National Academy in Quantico. He has been an invited speaker at the National Counterterrorism Center and was hired by Homeland Security to train professionals in school safety. He has trained thousands of professionals in education, law enforcement, and mental health on the psychology of violent offenders. He maintains the largest online collection of materials relating to school shooters at schoolshooters.info, including over 600 documents totaling 70,000 pages. His book, School Shooters: Understanding High School, College, and Adult Perpetrators was published in 2015. From 2018 to 2023 , Dr. Langman was a researcher with the National Threat Assessment Center of the United States Secret Service. His latest book is Warning Signs: Identifying School Shooters Before They Strike.
Research Citations
Langman, P. (2025). The Transformation of Mohamed Atta: The Relevance of Personality in Radicalization. Behavioral Sciences and
the Law. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.70011
Langman, P. (2023), “Bio-Psycho-Social-Cultural: Four Domains of Factors Contributing to School Shootings”, Collins, L.W., Landrum,
T.J. and Cook, B.G. (Ed.) Issues Around Violence in Schools (Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities, Vol. 33), Emerald
Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 69-86. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0735-004X20230000033005
Langman, P. (2020, November). Osama bin Laden: Humble Megalomaniac. Aggression and Violent Behavior.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101519
Langman, P. (2019). “Desperate Identities: A Bio-Psycho-Social Analysis of Perpetrators of Mass Violence,” Criminology and Public
Policy, Vol. 19, pp. 61–84.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12468
Langman, P. (2019). Psychological Insights into Homegrown Jihadists. Journal of Campus Behavioral Intervention, 7, pp. 46-55.
Langman, P. (2015). School Shooters: Understanding High School, College, and Adult Perpetrators. Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefield.
Millon, T. (2011). Disorders of Personality: Introducing a DSM/ICD Spectrum From Normal to Abnormal. Third Edition. Hoboken, NJ:
Wiley.
Speaker Disclosures:
Disclosures: The presenter reports no conflicts of interest related to this presentation. Â No commercial support was received for this presentation. The presenter reports no conflicts of interest related to this presentation.
Accessibility
This webinar will feature live transcription.
Closed Captions:Â Live audio captions are accessible for this event. If you need additional disability-related accommodations, please contact us by email us at info@connpsych.org or by phone (860) 404-0333. Requests should be made at least two weeks in advance of workshop date.
Important Reminders
- Please review our webinar tips and CE eligibility guidelines prior to the day of the webinar. If you experience technical issues, please contact the CPA by email at info@connpsych.org or by phone at 860-404-0333.
- The webinar will take place from 1:00–4:00 pm Eastern Time. Please make the proper time zone conversion to determine the start time in your city.
Continuing Education Approval:
The Connecticut Psychological Association (CPA) is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to offer continuing education for psychologists. CPA maintains responsibility for the program and its content. CPA will issue certificates of completion. APA CE rules require that we only issue credits to those who attend the entire workshop. Those logging into the Zoom webinar more than 15 minutes late or logging off before the entire workshop is completed will not receive CE credits (i.e., partial CE credit will not be issued).
Refund Policy: Participants may direct questions to CPA by email at info@connpsych.org or by phone at (860) 404-0333. Registrants may cancel and receive a full refund up to two-weeks in advance of workshop date. Â An administrative fee of $30 will be charged for cancellation of registration within two weeks of the workshop date (Social Justice events will not be charged an administrative fee). Please note, no refunds will be granted within 24 hours of workshop date.
CPA GRIEVANCE POLICY:
The Connecticut Psychological Association (CPA) is fully committed to conducting all activities in strict conformance with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists. The CPA will comply with all legal and ethical guidelines for non-discrimination in promotional activities, program content, and in the treatment of CE participants.  While the CPA strives to assure fair treatment for all participants and to anticipate problems before they occur, occasionally grievances may be filed. In cases where a participant files a written or oral grievance, the following actions are taken:
If the grievance concerns the content of the workshop, a CPA representative will mediate and will be the final arbitrator. If the participant requests action, the CPA will either provide a credit for a subsequent CE offering or provide a partial or full refund of the CE fee already paid. Â Actions involving a credit or a refund will require a written note documenting the grievance for record-keeping purposes. The aggrieved individual need not sign the note. If the grievance specifically concerns the CPA, the CPA will attempt to arbitrate.
Direct correspondence to: The Connecticut Psychological Association, P.O. Box #1167, Old Saybrook, CT 06475 or by email to executivedirector@connpsych.org.
