Psychological Theories Of Criminal Behaviour Of Ted Bundy As A Serial Killer

In the 1970s and 1980s, Ted Bundy was a notorious serial killer whose case made serial execution a public topic. Since serial killers had just recently been identified as a phenomenon at the time Ted Bundy's case was developing, it quickly gained notoriety among other criminal cases that were developing at the time.

Serial killers like Ted Bundy are egregious in the world of crime. Bundy confessed to horrifyingly murdering thirty women in the 1970s, but others suspect he may have killed a lot more. It is difficult to understand what could push someone over the edge into such gruesome behavior as Bundy did. But it's crucial to make an effort to comprehend that behavior because only by doing so will society have the ability to spot and stop mass murderers in time to save lives.

We will discuss Ted Bundy’s psychological criminal behavior in this blog. If you are curious to understand a notorious criminal mind, keep reading.

Who is Ted Bundy?

Before we talk about criminology, let’s understand who Ted Bundy was. Among all serial killers, Ted Bundy is possibly the most ignominious and weirdly well-liked. Unless it would not be possible to captivate millions of people's minds after thirty years of Bundy's death via execution. This is in large part because of the Netflix documentaries “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” and the fictionalized “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile about Bundy.”

Ted Bundy once said about himself, “The most cold-hearted son of a b**** you’ll ever meet.” So, you can imagine how desperate a sociopath he was. His impulse to attack innocent women in vengeance for the pain he imagined he caused, as well as an accumulation of frustration and rejection, may have been influenced by a variety of early encounters.

He was clever and did well in his law and psychology classes, but he lacked social skills and had attachment issue since birth. Ted Bundy preferred to hang out by himself. He found it challenging to interact with others, especially following the breakup of his first fiancée, despite putting on a front of being socially successful. The rejection is thought to have sparked his first murder as a result of deadly feelings of childhood resentment and fury.

The Background Story of Ted Bundy

When you know about a serial killer’s childhood, you can get at least a tiny thread to understand what makes them kill and rape afterward. In other words, the biography of a criminal can say a lot about their behavior.

It can’t be a justification for killing people or torturing them inhumanely. Still, the human mind is the most complicated thing in the whole universe. And you don’t know what trauma will burst out and finish people’s lives.

Ted Bundy’s childhood was not pleasant at all. Born fatherless to a single mother, his grandparents took responsibility, but out of anger, they regularly beat Ted and his mother. After enduring enough bruises, they fled away. Ted’s mother married a person named Johnnie Bundy. Ted had a difficult relationship with his stepfather. And as he had been very shy from his childhood, being a target of bullying was his fate. All these things jeopardized his future relationship. Being intolerant and desperate, he sexually assaulted and killed his girlfriend and many other women in Washington. According to Bundy's confession report, he killed 28 women. But most criminology experts and departments believe that the numbers are bigger than that.

What was Ted Bundy’s Case?

Ted Bundy feasted on young women by telling them lies while frequently sporting a phony cast on an arm or leg. He persuaded the victims to assist him to his car by faking a disability. Bundy initially started his murders close to his Washington home before moving to Florida, Utah, and Colorado. Throughout the 1970s, Bundy is thought to have raped and killed 30 women. He frequently beat the victims' heads with a stick or a rope, strangled them, and occasionally even dismembered them after they had died.

People started to report Ted Bundy as a suspect as the bodies started to pile up and witnesses' descriptions spread. Police, however, disregarded this because of his neat look and honourable reputation. After eluding a patrol cruiser in Utah in the 1970s, Ted Bundy was finally apprehended. Police discovered rope, masks, handcuffs, and other materials in his car, but those weren't enough to connect him to the murders. He was caught once more for kidnapping and assaulting one of his victims after being freed some months earlier. Ted Bundy escaped prison twice, during which time he carried on his killing spree before being condemned for his murder in 1980 and finally dying in the electric chair in 1989 in Florida.

So, if you want to see an exceptional example of cruelty, Ted Bundy was the boss of everything.

Theoretical Explanation of Ted Bundy’s Behaviour

Psychologists have been working on notorious criminal minds for years. So, what captivates them the most about Ted Bundy? Not every criminal has the power to carry double lives or personalities, but Ted played both well. Ted was quite an enigma. He was handsome, intelligent, had a long-term relationship, a great academic career, and a strong political career. On the other hand, Ted was cold-bloodedly raping and killing women!

From these uncanny polarisations in his character, psychologists found out several mental disorders he was going through.

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

A group of psychologists studied Ted's mental condition at the University of Kentucky. And they found that Ted had an antisocial personality disorder. Many of them also agreed on the point that Ted was the ideal example of this disorder. With this disorder, people become –

• Egocentric,
• Manipulative,
• Impulsive,
• Irresponsible,
• Hostile,
• Deceitful,
• Empathy less.

And for Ted, one can tick off each box.

1. Psychopathy

Although psychopathy falls under the same umbrella, it is not the same as Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). According to various eminent psychologists, there is a checklist for psychopathy. It includes –

• Untruthfulness
• Lack of Remorse
• Insincerity
• Lack of Nervousness
• Superficial Charm
• Pathological Egocentricity
• Inadequately Motivated Antisocial Behaviour

After studying Ted Bundy's case, many psychologists reached the same point that he was a terrible example of a psychopath. He definitely had the mask of a sane man. That's how he searched for his new prey and fooled them before killing them. He had both good and evil in the same mind. In other words, all the symptoms of being a psychopath were inside him. Maybe that’s why he killed all those women brutally.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Almost 93% of renowned psychologists believe that Ted has an extremely high narcissistic personality disorder. His history of brutal killing and rape explains that Ted had made enough criteria to have a definite narcissistic personality disorder. After a lot of debate and speculation, scientists have reached the point that America has never seen such a prolific serial rapist and killer like Ted Bundy. His mind had numerous highly complicated and sinister layers, which led him to the path of serial killing. As Ted was fascinated by his own, he used to manipulate others to fulfil his objectives. And all these things made him the “most handsome devil of the earth.”

Borderline Personality Disorder

When Ted was asked to confess the reason for his serial killing, he said, “You feel the last bit of breath leaving their body. You’re looking into their eyes. A person in that situation is God!” A normal person can speak like this. No doubt, Ted Bundy had several personality Regular symptoms of borderline personality disorder, including fragile relationships, impulsive behavior, self-harming, acute depressive episodes, and changes in self-perception. It's possible that Bundy didn't suffer from one of these mental disorders because of the powerful emotions that those with borderline personality disorder frequently experience a lot. Ted had a lack of emotions. So, he was quite above the situation of borderline personality disorder.  

Schizoid Personality Disorder

In the University of Kentucky investigation, more than 50% of the experts diagnosed Bundy with schizoid personality disorder, which is essentially an extreme case of antisocial personality disorder.

It's highly possible that Bundy's inability to express emotion and behave correctly led to the diagnosis of schizoid personality disorder. However, since Bundy was a serial rapist, it was evident that he was not interested in sexual intercourse, which is another significant characteristic of schizoid.

Machiavellianism

The extended version of extreme narcissism is called Machiavellianism. This disorder is named after Niccolò Machiavelli, an Italian political philosopher at the time of the Renaissance. It defines behavior as when a person exploits others to achieve personal targets. According to various psychologists, “they see people as objects for manipulation; they will have normal amounts of empathy unless they have traits of psychopathy.”

Undoubtedly, Bundy had Machiavellianism, but he never accepted that.

Wrapping Up,

Today's trauma can be the reason for tomorrow's criminal outbursts. And Ted Bundy was no exception. According to various studies, Ted Bundy was sick, and his mind was psychologically twisted. But there was not even any slightest proof of that on his face. His physique attracts a lot of women. They wanted to spend their lives with Ted.

On the other hand, Ted had been killing a lot of women for four years but never got caught. It is true that whenever we hear Ted's name, an extremely intense and mixed feeling of anger, disgust, and contempt captures our minds. But we can't avoid Ted's unparalleled personality. We can say without further thinking that it was one of a kind.

So, if the government is truly looking for solutions, the symptoms and actions of Ted Bundy should be thoroughly examined. As a result, law enforcement executives can understand the true reasons for this horrifying behavior and take care of the children whose lives are at risk. In this way, decreasing crime rates and having a peaceful and safe world around you is possible.