This presentation delves into the life and crimes of Ted Bundy, an American serial killer known for his brutal murders of young women. It explores his disturbed childhood, his charming personality, and the application of psychoanalytic and social compliance theories to understand his behavior.
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Theodore Robert Bundy was an American serial killer and necrophile who was born on November 24, 1946 until January 24, 1989. Ted Bundy kidnapped, murdered and raped many young women and girls during the times of 1970s. He was convicted but denied for his deeds for more than a decade. Later before his execution in the year 1986, he confessed to the slaughter and killing of 30 people between the time period of 1974 to 1978. He committed crimes in more than seven states of US. The behaviour of Bundy was usually noticed as disturbed based on certain situations. From the age of three he started acting differently weird with his relatives. Talking about one such incident when Bundy covered his aunt with knives while she was sleeping and was smiling while looking at her condition when she woke up. Study and analysis showed that he felt satisfaction in killing people and looking at them in their suffering. Women whom Bundy assassinated said that he had a charming personality with attractive looks. Initially it was believed that Bundy had bipolar disorder which was further converted into the assurance of multiple personality disorder. Also his personality was often identified as psychopath or sociopath. Psychoanalytic Theory The psychoanalytic theory of personality theory can be applied to the personality traits of Ted Bundy in the environment. It should be noted that infancy of a child along with their emotional and mental wellbeing plays the most important role in development of their personality as an adult. It is important to provide adequate attention and physical touch to the child during their childhood so as to avoid substantial personality disorder in future. Talking about the childhood of Ted Bundy, it should be noted that he faced a threatening childhood where he was raised by his cruel grandfather. Bundy’s had a single mother who was assaulted during work which a bad impression on him. For the first three years Bundy lived with his mother’s abusive father where he was asked to avoid social contact with people. Bundy’s grandfather was an abusive man who used to abuse his wife, dog and neighboured cats. The impression of his grandfather’s personality highly affected him. For a person of his age, he had seen a lot more than he should had. Thus, it should be noted that various instance at childhood can be seen that elaborated that Bundy was left alone by his parents and used to watch cruel things that never left his mind even after growing up. This reason clearly explained that why Bundy attained a psychopathic behaviour after growing up. Social Compliance Theory Compliance refers to the social influence where an individual perform the actions that others want them to do. Compliance refers to the change in the attitude and behaviour of the person that is requested by another person in the environment. According to this theory, the behaviour of the person is influenced by other people present in the surrounding. Like in the given case of Ted Bundy, he grasped the behaviour of his cruel grandfather who used to beat women and disrespect people in the environment. A Devil Behind Women: Ted Bundy (October 30, 1974). Conclusion Thus,inthelimelightofabovementioned events, the fact should be noted that personality theoryofpsychoanalyticandthesocial compliance theories can each be applied to analyse the behaviour of serial killer Ted Bundy. Ted changed his behaviour towards women and crime during his childhood only. Further, when it was rejected by his love then he was shifted towards the crime in the environment.References Lemoyne., (2019) The Psychology of a Serial Killer [online]. Available from < http://web.lemoyne.edu/~Freemams/index_files/psych_serial.htm > [Accessed on 23 May 2019]. Sarteschi, C.M., 2016. Serial Murder. In Mass and Serial Murder in America (pp. 45-67). Springer, Cham. Schultz, D.P. and Schultz, S.E., 2016. Theories of personality. Cengage Learning. Williams, D.J., 2019. Is Serial Sexual Homicide a Compulsion, Deviant Leisure, or Both? Revisiting the Case of Ted Bundy. Leisure Sciences, pp.1-19.