Influences on Criminal Behaviour and Victim Blaming

This study delves into the influences on criminal behaviour and victim blaming, focusing on the case of Ted Bundy. It explores the biological and psychological explanations for serial murder and discusses the concept of victim blaming. Gain insights into the factors that contribute to criminal acts and the societal response to them.

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Influences on Criminal Behaviour and Victim Blaming
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Influences on Criminal Behaviour and Victim Blaming
Introduction
Cases and instances of serial murder are rampant and continue to raise a lot of concern
among the security personnel. Serial murder is criminal behaviour that invites serious
consequences to the serial killer. A serial murderer is defined as an individual who intentionally
kills two or more people over a period of time. The period of time referred, in this case, could
range between days and years. Therefore, serial murder can be defined in terms of the murderer's
intention. Hence, serial murder is the kind of murder fuelled by the killer's motive and desire for
gratification or pleasure which is often sexual in nature. Primarily, biological approaches,
psychological approaches, and victim blaming are used to explain criminal behaviour such as
serial murder. When dealing with the report on influences on criminal behaviour and victim
blaming, the figure on focus will be Ted Bundy (also known as Theodore Robert Bundy). It is
also important to note that the concepts, murder/kill and murderer/killer, will be used
interchangeably.
A Critical Evaluation of Literature Regarding Serial Killers
Criminologists and psychologists classify murders differently. According to Knight
(2006:1190), homicide is chiefly categorized into three. That is mass murder, spree murder, and
serial murder. Knight thus sees mass murder as the killing of three or more in one place and time
without the duration of cooling off. Spree murder, on the other hand, is killing three or more
people in duration not exceeding thirty days and is often associated with other crimes (Knight,
2006:1190). Serial murder, a criminal act, and abnormal behaviour are described as the type of
killing involving three or more victims and spans for a period exceeding thirty days (one month)
with a considerable cooling-off duration. Further, Silkes (2010) connotes that since a serial killer

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takes cooling-off of about 24 hrs or more, it is evident that each killing committed tends to
temporarily satisfy the killer’s motivating factors while each subsequent murder elicits distinct
behaviours.
Notably, psychologists, criminologists, and other experts attempt to understand the mind
of a serial killer. Knight contends that serial killers are different and thus kill for different
reasons from sexual purposes (Knight, 2006: 1191). The early development experiences are
likely to influence criminal acts such as serial killing. Mostly, children/teenagers/young adults
who are abandoned in the infancy are likely to exhibit defensive personality of a defective self.
According to Knight, the parents or guardians “self objects” of the majority of people who turn
out as serial killers were faulty and destructive to their children. Knight’s argument is evident
because the failure of the self objects renders children to have extreme needs which in their
fulfilment may be met with monstrous and undesirable traits.
Other than the negative influence of self objects, neurologists argue that serial killers
suffer from brain abnormality. Kiehl and Joshua (2010: 24) see serial killers as psychopaths.
Psychopaths process their information different from other people and appear as if they have a
learning problem that impedes their emotional development (Kiehl and Buckholtz, 2010:24).
Consequently, Kiehl and Buckholtz establish that serial killers/psychopaths lack empathy, are
manipulative, lie, do not regret, may be violent, do not form stable relationships, do not
hallucinate or become anxious or confused, and have more than average intelligence. Ted Bundy
was such a serial killer.
Ted Buddy (Theodore Robert Cowell) was born on 24th September 1946 by his teenage
mother, Louise. He was brought up by his grandparents, the Cowells in Philadelphia. During his
childhood, Ted was not very social because he always babysits his little half-brother (Rule,

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2012:10). Ted was termed by many as attractive, intelligent, popular, and full of skills (Rule,
2012: 51-52). He was also shy and hardly had a serious relationship with girls until he met
Stephanie, a girl from a wealthy and influential family. In spite of all this, Ted turned up to be a
kidnapper, sociopath, burglar, rapist, and worse, a serial killer. He killed more than thirty young
women and was executed by electrocution.
An Evaluation of Approaches to Understanding Criminal Behaviour, Including Biological
and Psychological Explanations
There is no doubt that the majority of people who attempt to explain an individual’s
inclination to commit criminal acts tend to majorly give biological and/or psychological
explanations. One of the biological approaches borrows from Cesare Lombroso’s theory of
crime. According to Ellwood (1912: 718), Lombroso argued that from a biological perspective a
normal human being cannot become a real criminal and that social factors are inadequate to
create a criminal out of an honest normal man. Instead, Lombroso holds that criminals are
atavistic and thus have mal-developed brains and also portray similar characteristics.
The point stressed by Lombroso is that criminals are born and not made. He saw
criminals as throwbacks or the forms of underdevelopment. Since he found criminals to have less
developed brains, Lombroso argues that criminals are identifiable through atavistic features or
visible physical abnormalities or physical stigmata (Lanier, 2018: 105). These features include
face asymmetry, enormous jaws, handle-shaped ears, strong toes, fingers, and toes, acute sights,
red eyes, and insensibility to pain (Lanier, 2018: 105). However, Lombroso's theory faces
significant criticism from those who feel that criminal acts do not solely emanate from biological
factors but also from social aspects.

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The problem with Lombroso’s theory is that it only cites biological factors as the only
cause of criminal behaviour. According to Ellywood (1912: 718-719), crime is about conduct
and conduct is about habit. Ellwood also dismisses the possibility of a child, whether normal or
abnormal to correct its criminal tendency which according to Lombroso is inherent. Although
Lombroso made a significant inquiry in understanding criminality it is easier to agree with Lee
and Choi (2014:100) that his theory is simple and presents insignificant complexity.
On the other hand, the psychological explanation of crime/serial murder develops a
different and varying approach from the biological perspective. Similar to biological theories,
psychological explanations for crime focuses on differences that predispose individuals from
committing crimes. The psychological theories main argument is that human traits are formed
through socialization and developmental process but are not biologically determined (Lanier and
Henry, 2004: 130). One of the psychological theories that explain the development of serial
murder criminal acts is Freud’s psychodynamic approaches.
Freud believes that human behavior is irrational, instinctual, and unconscious. There is,
therefore, life (sexual) instincts and dead (aggressive) instincts (DeHart and Mahoney, 2004:
190). The id is Freud's most essential yet unstructured element of personality. In the case of a
serial killer, the psychodynamic theory holds that the person either lacks to constrain the id or
experiences excess to constrain of the id thereby resulting to aggression and predisposition to
murder (DeHart and Mahoney, 2004: 190). The explosion of aggression and the repeated
accumulation of energy and its discharge results in the serial nature of the murders.
Further, (Lanier and Henry, 2004: 133) connotes that murder energies are released by the
intense death wishes thereby resulting in homicide. Homicide is also triggered by the intensity of

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the inner conflict whereby murderers feel tormented and trapped between the surroundings and
the self-preserving feelings (Lanier and Henry. 2004:133).
A Discussion of Victim Blaming and Blame Culture
Generally, victim blaming occurs when a person tries to disassociate or to distance
themselves from a criminal act thereby making the self feel safe. In other words, victim blaming
occurs when people hold a victim responsible for his/her suffering (Ryan, 2010). The World
Health Organisation (2012) defines a victim as a person who is mentally, physically, or
financially hurt by the behaviour or actions of another person. For example, serial killing is
sometimes blamed on the victim’s deficiencies in early development and childhood abuse.
Knight (2006:1197) argues that serial killers are pathological narcissists who portray a defensive
psychic to conceal the defective self. Like in the case of Ted, he disguised as a good man and
while on public he pretended to be injured or disabled or an authority figure to lure his targets.
Victim blaming and blame culture can best be understood in the context of positivist victimology
and radical victimology theories. Miers (2009:3) says that positivist victimology focuses on two
main aspects. One of these aspects includes the inherent characteristics that make a victim
vulnerable to victimisation and secondly is the relationship between the criminal and the victim
that may render the victim responsible for their victimisation. For instance, Ted raped, killed, and
tortured girls and young women out of revenge following the breakdown with Stephanie.
According to Rule (2012:1519), Ted's victims were prototypes of Stephanie. In other words, Ted
targeted girls who had similar or close physical appearance as Stephanie's.

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Conclusion
Serial murder is not an uncommon phenomenon especially now that the criminal act is
reported across all human societies. Serial murder is different from mass murder or spree murder.
Serial murder is thus determined by the number of people killed over a period of time, of course
with a cooling-off period between one murder and the other. There are various approaches that
try to explain why people become serial killers. These approaches include biological,
psychological, and sociological approaches. Also central in serial murder is the case of blaming
the victim and the subsequent formation of a blame culture. In other words, people tend to blame
a victim by placing him or her as responsible for the consequences of a criminal act.

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References
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