The Case Study of Ted Bundy

The Case Study of Ted Bundy
Theresa Matson
PSY410
November 7, 2011
Nichelle J. Gause, LPC, NCC

The Case Study of Ted Bundy

Ted Bundy was a charismatic, handsome person, while at the same time he was a pathological liar and one of the country’s worst serial killers. His life was headed for trouble from very early on, an unstable home life, interest in crimes, killing and sexual assault, and feeling alone and forgotten. His low socioeconomic status was cause for concern for him and his inability to understand how to form friendships or relationships, unless they had something to offer him. He was a master manipulator and used his above average intelligence to get whatever he wanted. His behavior, emotions, and cognitive functions all pointed to problems early on and continued to grow as he aged. Biologically he was predisposed according to facts about his grandfather and grandmother, which could have been genetic. In adulthood finding the political arena a social group that he could fit into, allowed him to manipulate, lie and be deviant without standing out. A failed romantic encounter may have started the killing spree. His claim up until his death was always that he was innocent, but hours before his execution he did admit to some of the murders. In the end he was diagnosed as a class one psychopath and had antisocial personality disorder. He finally met his demise at the Florida State Prison at the age of 42 (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009) .

Biological Although his father was unknown and his mother did not drink, smoke or do drugs, his disorder may have started with genetics handed down from his grandparents. His grandmother received electroconvulsive therapy for severe depression and feared leaving her home in later years. His grandfather by some reports was a tyrannical bully, a bigot, beat his wife and dog, and sometimes spoke aloud to unseen presences. He also kept a large stock of pornography that Ted was allowed to peruse for hours. There were hints from family members that his mother had been assaulted by her own father and he was the result, but that was never substantiated. His grandparents raised him as if he was theirs and his mother was his sister (Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, Nove) .

Emotional
Emotionally, Ted suffered as a young child, first when he had to leave his grandfather whom he believed to be his father and adored. Secondly his mother married and had 4 other children and Ted felt ignored. He had no close connection to his stepfather and when he learned that he was not his mother’s younger brother but instead her son, the resentment built. He had one romantic encounter that ended badly and could have been a pivotal point to his killing spree. Although he denied that was why he chose certain types of females, the women all resembled the one woman who had rebuffed him. He had no empathy for anyone and could not understand relationships that required any effort on his part. He was only concerned about his wants and needs and if someone could benefit him.
Cognitive
He never really formed any understanding of how his actions would have consequences. He attended church throughout high school but stated that none of it stuck. He fit in best when he was in the political arena. He attended several colleges, attended law school but dropped out and finally graduated with a degree in psychology (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009) .
Behavioral
His behavior was questionable as far back as seven years old, he stated that was when the “killing entity” could already be felt and was growing. As an adolescent he browsed bookstores for detective magazines, crime novels, or anything that was truly gory in nature. The more sexually explicit the better, or dead, maimed bodies also was his preference. He started drinking heavily about this time also, and stated that he thought that was a trigger. He was voyeuristic, sneaking around his neighborhood to watch women undressing. When Ted was around the age of fourteen, a neighborhood child went missing although he never admitted to that crime. He stated that “his desire during the killings was not the violence but the full possession or control of the victim” (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009) .

Diagnosis
Bundy was diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder and a high Factor 1 psychopath. The major ways in which his case is atypical for psychopaths are (1) His higher level of intelligence (2) few indices of psychopathy early in life (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009).
Criteria
Criteria for diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder was described as “A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, beginning in childhood or adolescence and continuing into adulthood. Out of seven indicators Ted Bundy could easily be described by at least five of these indicators. The DSM-IV-TR states that only three would confirm a diagnoses (Hansell & Damour, 2008) . 1. Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest.
Ted had several arrests as a youth for burglary and car theft. Other acts displayed he had no regard for rules, He established a ticket forgery system that allowed him to ski free of charge and was never caught (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009) . 2. Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure.
He developed several aliases later in adulthood, and was labeled a pathological liar.
The one romantic encounter with Stephanie Brooks, caused him pain when she broke it off with him, but later after he graduated from college he cultivated a relationship with her again just to dump her. He was seeing another female at the time and lied to both. 3. Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead.
He did not show impulsivity until later after he was being hunted. He was meticulous about planning his kills and making sure no evidence was left. 4. Irritability or aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults.
He was aggressive even in school, where he was in fights. His choice of how he killed his victims was by mostly blunt force trauma or strangulation. 5. Reckless disregard for safety of self or others.
This may not have applied in regards to himself because he was always very careful to maintain his safety and not being caught. He had no such beliefs for the welfare of others. 6. Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or to honor financial obligations.
He worked at a lot of different odd jobs, but once in the political field he became more consistent for a short period of time. Not a lot of information is available about his financial situation, other than he used stolen credit cards. 7. Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another person.
Upon capture he showed no remorse for his actions and would not take responsibility for them. It angered him at being accused of the crimes. He even used his charm to escape once from a courthouse and his cunning to escape from the prison once. But he did not see this as having done anything wrong. He not only was married while in prison but fathered a child as well. He claimed his innocence until the day of his execution when he admitted to possibly 23 murders. But many put the total much higher.

Summary
Ted Bundy was a person that is in nightmares. He was cold calculating, no empathy and cared only for himself. He was high functioning when he needed to be to fool anyone around him. The number of women he killed was horrifying and the abuse he did to them before death can only be imagined. With this case, it would be one of the worst scenarios of the disorder and as far on the continuum as anyone would want to see. Could any of the information be used as a guideline for the future, possibly, but most just want to forget.

References
Hansell, J., & Damour, L. (2008). Abnormal Psychology (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
Meyer, R. G., Chapman, L. K., & Weaver, C. M. (2009). Case Studies in Abnormal Behavior (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. (November 4, 2011). Ted Bundy. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted Bundy

References: Hansell, J., & Damour, L. (2008). Abnormal Psychology (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. Meyer, R. G., Chapman, L. K., & Weaver, C. M. (2009). Case Studies in Abnormal Behavior (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. (November 4, 2011). Ted Bundy. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted Bundy