Ted Bundy Through the Developmental Psychology Lens

Case Study: Ted Bundy Through the Developmental Lens Ted Bundy was a notorious American serial killer known to be active between 1973 and 1978. Before his execution in 1989, Bundy confessed to over 30 murders, although the actual number is estimated from 26 to 35 or more. His modus operandi was to lure and bludgeon young women, and then strangle them to death. Bundy confessed to acts of rape, mutilation and necrophilia with his victims. He escaped twice from county jails prior to his final apprehension in 1978, and was executed by electric chair in 1989 in Florida. Developmental History Bundy was born Theodore Robert Cowell on November 24, 1946, at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers in Burlington, Vermont. He lived with†¦show more content†¦He later admitted he was embarrassed by his family’s poverty, and felt humiliated at being seen riding in Johnnie’s run-down Rambler (Michaud, 2000), perhaps his earliest documented recollection of feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, and a poorly developed self-concept. Ted began isolating in his bedroom with the radio and an earpiece, listening to news broadcasts or talk shows because he enjoyed eavesdropping on others conversations, and it became a primary source of stimulation. He kept this activity secret from his parents, along with his first ventures into pornography. His isolative pattern would support a profile of daydreaming, which is brought on by an over-productive imagination and fantasy. Such isolation breeds characteristic of feelings of inadequacy experienced by other known serial killers (Ressler, 1990). Not surprisingly, Bundy entered adolescence without a sense of identity and certain role confusion. He had no quality attachments, no modeling figure in his life, a mother that he called his sister, and a biological father that never existed for him. As a juvenile, he constantly sought to create an impression of being a member of the â€Å"popular† group, and relied on his academic achievement to differentiate himself from others. While he made friends, he was found to be socially unreliable, preferring to babysit his