Running head: PERSONALITY THEORY 1

Personality Theory Assessment of Theodore Bundy Using the Five Approaches

Kellie Sherrer

Drury University
PERSONALITY THEORY 2

Personality Theory Assessment of Theodore Bundy Using the Five Approaches

Who is Ted Bundy?

Theodore Bundy, also known as Ted Bundy, was a serial rapist and killer that is

attributed 36 known killings in the 1970s; however, officials believe that Bundy killed 100 or

more females. (“Ted Bundy,” 2018) It is also known that he was a necrophiliac. (“Ted Bundy,”

2018) A necrophiliac is attracted to or has sexual intercourse with corpses. Bundy was born in

November of 1946 to Eleanor Cowell and his biological father is unknown. (“Ted Bundy,” 2018)

He was raised, in the beginning of his life, by his grandparents as an adopted son and was told

that his biological mother was his sister. (“Ted Bundy,” 2018) After some time, he was moved to

Washington to live with his mother and step-father, Johnny Bundy. (“Biographics,” 2018; “Ted

Bundy,” 2018) After Eleanor Cowell and Johnny Bundy were married, they had four other

children after Bundy. (“Biographics,” 2018) Looking in from the outside, Bundy grew up in a

good, middle-class family. (“Ted Bundy,” 2018)

Bundy’s criminal career began early and was surprising to all who knew him. He was not

as sociable as normal children, some would say he was shy and reserved. (“Biographics,” 2018;

“Ted Bundy,” 2018) As a teenager, he became even stranger. Bundy began to peek in people’s

windows and stole. (“Ted Bundy,” 2018) When Bundy was enrolled in the University of

Washington, he had a relationship with an attractive woman with long, dark hair (much like his

victims). (“Ted Bundy,” 2018) He graduated with a psychology degree in the early 1970s and

went to law school in Utah where he was more sociable and was more active in political matters;

such as when Bundy worked closely with the Republican governor of Washington, Ross Davis,

as an assistant, to receive a letter of recommendation from him. (“Biographics,” 2018; “Ted

Bundy,” 2018)
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It is debatably understood that Bundy started killing around 1974. (“Ted Bundy,” 2018)

All of his victims were between the ages of eight and 26 years old. (Blanco, J. I., n.d.) He lured

many of his victims by pretending to be hurt, either by putting a fake cast on his arm or leg while

using a sling or crutches, and asking for help. (“Biographics,” 2018; “Ted Bundy,” 2018) When

the victims helped, they would inevitably be kidnapped, raped, and killed. According to

“Biographics” (2018) and “Ted Bundy” (2018), this started in Washington and Oregon and

continued when Bundy moved to Utah. In 1975, Bundy was arrested for possession of burglary

tools (a crowbar, mask, rope, and handcuffs) before they started linking him to other crimes.

(“Ted Bundy,” 2018) According to “Ted Bundy” (2018), during 1975, he was arrested for a

kidnapping and received a year to 15 years sentence. A couple of years later, Bundy was arrested

for the murder of a young woman in Colorado where he escaped for the first time. (“Ted

Bundy,” 2018) However, a different source, “Biographics” (2018), says that Bundy may have

killed five women in six months in Colorado. At the end of 1977, Bundy made his second

escape. (“Ted Bundy,” 2018) He managed the escapes by jumping from the window of a

courthouse library and by climbing out of a hole in his cell. (“Ted Bundy,” 2018) Bundy made

his way, after the second escape, to Florida. (“Ted Bundy,” 2018) According to “Ted Bundy”

(2018), in the beginning of 1978, he attacked four residents of a sorority house, killing two of

these women. He continued his spree, the last of his career, by kidnapping and killing a young

girl, aged 12, before he was pulled over by the police. (“Ted Bundy,” 2018) According to

“Biographics” (2018) and “Ted Bundy” (2018), he was finally arrested in Florida, where he

spent the rest of his life. For the kidnappings, rapes, and murders that Bundy committed in

Florida, Bundy received three death sentences. (“Biographics,” 2018) One each for the two

sorority women and one for Kimberly Leach, the 12-year-old girl.
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Bundy tried to appeal the death sentences by taking his case to the Supreme Court.

(“Biographics,” 2018) However, according to “Biographics” (2018), his case was turned down.

In an effort to save his life, Bundy tried to give information on unsolved murders.

(“Biographics,” 2018) Unfortunately for Bundy, his decade long efforts were not enough to save

his life. He was executed in January 1989 by the electric chair. (“Biographics,” 2018; “Ted

Bundy,” 2018)

Trait Approach

The trait approach looks at various personality traits. A personality trait is a consistent

and persistent pattern of behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. (Funder, D. C., 2016) This section

will look at the Single Trait Approach and the Essential Trait Approach and how they would

view, or interpret, Theodore Bundy.

Single Trait Approach

The Single Trait Approach looks at three particular traits. The first one is

conscientiousness. This is, in layman’s terms, one’s awareness of themselves on others. (Waude,

A., 2017) The second trait is self-monitoring. This looks at a person’s ability to observe and

regulate their behavior. (Pedersen, T., 2018) Thirdly, the Single Trait Approach looks at

narcissism. Narcissism is “excessive self-love.” (Funder, D. C., 2016)

When looking at conscientiousness in terms of Ted Bundy, one can see that he fell

somewhere between high and low conscientious on the continuum of this trait. He portrays his

high-moderate standing on this continuum when he demonstrates his mixed behaviors. Low

conscientiousness is illustrated by impulsivity, disorganization, and typically not punctual.

(Waude, A., 2017) He displays impulsivity when “randomly” picked his victims and how he
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killed them, which shows a low conscientious personality. His random choices in his victims

does not mean that he did not have a type, just that he would go after anyone he fancied.

However, Bundy displays higher conscientiousness while in school and when he worked with

Governor Ross David. He had to be punctual, organized, and hard-working, which are

characteristic of high conscientiousness. (Waude, A., 2017)

The second trait that this approach looks at is a person’s self-monitoring placement on the

continuum. Someone with low self-monitoring tends to be independent, introspective, and

distrustful. (Funder, D. C., 2016) On the other side, someone with high self-monitoring scores

tend to be adaptive, better at expressing social poise, better at social techniques, and are more

likely to have ambivalent feelings. (Funder, D. C., 2016) High self-monitors tend to project an

image that could be used to impress or fit in with others. (Pedersen, T., 2018) Whereas, low self-

monitors are more likely to display an image closer to their true selves. (Pedersen, T., 2018)

When using this trait to explain Bundy, without using a diagnostic inventory, it would seem that

he was a high self-monitor. He would be at the high end of the spectrum because he was able to

portray himself as a charming and harmless man. This is far from the truth because he killed over

30 females. With would lead one to believe the conclusion that he is a high self-monitor.

The third, and final, trait that the Single Trait Approach looks at is narcissism. High

scores on narcissism can lead to charmers and those people give good impressions; these people

are also more likely to spend more effort on their appearances. (Funder, D. C., 2016) However,

according to Funder, D. C. (2016), they can also be described as manipulative, vain, arrogant,

and entitled. When this trait reaches extremes, according to Funder, D. C. (2016), it can lead to a

personality disorder. Bundy is probably on the higher end of the spectrum but would not be

considered for the personality disorder. The reasons that Bundy may have had a high score
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would be because Bundy was charming and vain; plus, he was able to lure the females by using a

ruse, or a manipulation, that allowed Bundy to make a good impression. With these clues, one

can predict that Bundy probably would have scored in the higher range.

Essential Trait Approach

This approach used many different theories to help itself to develop. This approach

consists of two major theories. The first was developed by Hans Eysenck and was called the Big

Five Factors. The second was developed by Myers and Briggs that resulted in their Myers-Briggs

Type Indicator.

The first theory was the Big Five Factor. Eysenck developed the theory that the following

five are the most important traits to study: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion,

agreeableness, and neuroticism. (Funder, D. C., 2016) Openness refers to a person’s willingness

to try new experiences. (Funder, D. C., 2016) Someone, according to Funder, D. C. (2016), who

would score high on this would be curious and have a lot of interests; therefore, someone who

has a low score in this trait would not seek new experiences and would be more conventional.

The second trait, conscientiousness, was mentioned in the last section. It has the same meaning

as in the Single Trait Approach. High scorers would be organized and responsible, whereas, low

scorers would be negligent and lazy. (Funder, D. C., 2016) Extraversion is how outgoing one is.

(Funder, D. C., 2016) Someone who scores high in extraversion is social and talkative; on the

other side, someone who scores low would be reserved and shy. (Funder, D. C., 2016)

Agreeableness measures how cooperative one is with others. (Funder, D. C., 2016) Someone

who would score high in this trait would be tolerant and easy-going, according to Funder, D. C.

(2016). Low scoring people are more likely to be rude, suborn, and manipulators. (Funder, D. C.,

2016) The final trait is neuroticism. Neuroticism measures one’s emotional stability. (Funder, D.
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C., 2016) The higher the score a person gets, the more likely the person is to be nervous and

anxious; while, the lower the score a person gets, the more likely the person is to be relaxed,

calm, and secure. (Funder, D. C., 2016)

Ted Bundy could possibly score higher in conscientiousness and openness and in a

moderate to low range for neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness. His score for

conscientiousness is on the higher side of the spectrum because he is more organized and

responsible than he is impulsive and negligent. The score Bundy might have received for

openness is higher because he was constantly moving around, learning new “tricks” and trades,

such as when he got his psychology degree and went back to law school, and he seemed to have

more interests. (“Ted Bundy,” 2018) Next, his score for neuroticism might be in the moderate to

low range because he seemed to be relatively relaxed and was not likely to be anxious about

much of anything. As for his extraversion score, Bundy portrayed himself as an extravert

(someone who is very outgoing and social) but it would probably be more accurate to state that

Bundy was more likely to be in the moderate to low scoring range. That is because he is not

likely to gather any enjoyment of being with others as much as a true extravert would. Finally,

Bundy’s moderate to low score on agreeableness would be more likely than a high score because

he was able to easily manipulate his victims, and others around him, into believing him to be an

easy-going and safe man to be around. He was also pretty stubborn, which is evident when you

notice how often he tried to escape custody and how many times he tried to make a relationship

with the woman that broke up with him. (“Biographics,” 2018; “Ted Bundy,” 2018)

Myers and Briggs created a theory that there are four scales that can explain a person’s

personality. They used extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuiting, thinking/feeling, and

judging/perceiving. (Funder, D. C., 2016) The extraversion/introversion scale is the similar to

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Eysenck’s scale, but this measures how one gathers energy. (Funder, D. C., 2016) For example,

extraverts gather energy by being in a crowd or surrounded by people, whereas, introverts gather

their energy by being alone. The rest of the scales are different from the Big Five Factor theory.

The second scale is sensing/intuiting. The sensing trait is one that most people have and tt is

characterized by practicality and more physical feelings (such as touching something). (Funder,

D. C., 2016) One the other side of this scale is intuiting. Intuiting is when a person relies on

hunches, or their gut, and are more prone to be imaginative. (Funder, D. C., 2016) The third scale

that Myers and Briggs looked at was thinking/feeling. A person with a thinking personality trait

is objective and impersonal, as opposed to feeling; whereas, someone with a feeling personality

is subjective and personal. (Funder, D. C., 2016) The final scale is judging/perceiving. Judging

personalities are planners and perceiving personalities are unscheduled and are more tentative

and go-with-the-flow type of people. (Funder, D. C., 2016) From these scales, Myers and Briggs

took the highest score from each scale and created personality types. There are 16 personality

types and each of the 16 personality traits has its own characteristic sub traits. (Funder, D. C.,

2016) Based on Myers and Briggs 16 types, Bundy might have been an introvert, intuiting,

thinking, and perceiving (INTP). This means that he might have been characterized as logical,

skeptical, detached, reserved, precise, independent, etc.

Biological Approach

The biological approach looks at the physical and evolutionary theories. These theories

include Marvin Zuckerman’s sensation seeking theory, the mate selection theory, and this section

will also include some information about hormones and neurotransmitters.

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Hormones and Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that are primarily in the central nervous system that are

vital in communication between neurons, cells in the brain. (Funder, D. C., 2016) Two important

neurotransmitters are dopamine and serotonin. These two are important because they have links

to emotions and behaviors. (Funder, D. C., 2016) Dopamine plays a key role in controlling body

movements and is associated with the reward system and risk taking. (Funder, D. C., 2016) The

reward deficiency syndrome is directly related to dopamine. (Lewis, M., 2013) When a

dopamine receptor does not work right, either works too much or too little, the person will likely

suffer from many things including addiction. (Lewis, M., 2013) Bundy had an addictive

personality. He was a self-admitted pornography addict and, one can argue, that he was addicted

to committing his crimes of kidnapping, raping, and killing. Serotonin is used to inhibit

emotional and behavioral impulses. (Funder, D. C., 2013) Funder, D. C. (2013) states that

someone named Steven Reise (2006) commented that serotonin even links into the Big Five; for

example, the role serotonin takes in inhibiting impulses helps organize people’s behaviors, which

is conscientiousness, and get along with others (agreeableness) and creates a more stable

mood/emotional state (neuroticism). This relates to Bundy because along with the above-

mentioned information, if someone has too little serotonin they can engage in emotional

outbursts, anger, and hyper-sensitivity to rejection. (Funder, D. C., 2013) Bundy was hyper-

sensitive to rejection and based on his crimes was prone to anger which can lead to the idea that

he may have been serotonin deficient.

Hormones, according to Funder, D. C. (2016), are “biological substances that affect the

body in locations different from where they were produced.” There is one hormone, testosterone,

that predicts one’s aggression and dominance levels. (Funder, D. C., 2016) If some has higher
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levels of testosterone, they most likely become highly aggressive and dominant. (Funder, D. C.,

2016) Bundy, as a rapist and killer, was both highly aggressive and dominant which leads one to

believe he might have had too much testosterone.

Sensation Seeking Theory

Marvin Zuckerman created the sensation seeking theory. (Funder, D. C., 2016) It looks at

four categories: thrill and adventure seeking, experience seeking, disinhibition, and boredom

susceptibility. Thrill and adventure seeking is how open someone is to trying novel and risky

experiences (i.e. skydiving). (Munsey, C., 2006) Experience seeking measures if how willing

someone is to try something novel just to try that experience. (Munsey, C., 2006) Disinhibition

measures how open you are to trying things (i.e. trying different drugs, sex, etc.). (Munsey, C.,

2006) Boredom susceptibility just measures how easily one gets bored. (Munsey, C., 2006) This

theory found that the higher one is on the sensation seeking scale, they are likely to engage in

risky sports, relationships, driving habits, foods, job choices, etc. (Munsey, C., 2006)

This relates to Bundy because there are two sides to someone who has a high score of

sensation seeking. The first side, or the positive, is seeking thrills in good aspects of life and

society. This can look like entrepreneurship and creative science or art. (Munsey, C., 2006) The

second side, or the negative side, can lead people to crime, violence, and terrorism just for fun.

(Munsey, C., 2006) While Bundy did not only commit his crimes for the pleasure he felt, it could

be argued that he was probably looking to commit the to get a “high.” And that would be the

goal that many high scoring sensation seeking personalities would be looking to achieve.
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Mate Selection

Mate selection is was developed in the human species as a survival instinct. The first

factor of mate selection is attractiveness. Even in different cultures, males are more likely to

place higher value on physical attractiveness than women. (Funder, D. C., 2016) According to

Funder, D. C. (2016), women, on the other hand, are more likely to place a higher value on

economic security when looking for a partner. Likewise, men are more likely to find mates that

are younger, according to Funder, D. C. (2016), therefore, women are going to be looking for

mates that are older than themselves. These factors would lead to the greatest likelihood that they

will have surviving offspring that will reproduce in the future. (Funder, D. C., 2016)

Mating strategies are next. These strategies are likely to establish and maintain

relationships. Men, according to Funder, D. C. (2016), are going to look for more sexual partners

and, because of this, are less likely to stay faithful. Men are also particular when picking their

women, Funder D. C. (2016). Women, in comparison are more likely to be more selective in

their partners and are going to want monogamy with stable relationships. (Funder, D. C., 2016)

This links to Ted Bundy because he, as a rapist, was promiscuous and slept around. An

evolutionist/biologist could argue that he was doing the rapes to reproduce the strongest possible

offspring from the strongest possible female. Bundy’s victim type was attractive, young women

with brunette hair that are generally considered attractive. (“Biographics,” 2018; “Ted Bundy,”

2018) As for mating strategies, Bundy did have several long term relationships, with three

women. (“Biographics,” 2018) He dated the first woman, the one that fit his victim type, for

several years, with a long break and, at the same time, Bundy also dated another woman for a

while that had a child. (“Biographics,” 2018) He stayed with her because he was, according to

evolutionists, going to protect her offspring and give the child a chance of produce his/her
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offspring in the future. And then there was the woman that he married while in prison. He

produced a child with her, however, due to the fact that he was in prison for his crimes, he was

divorced and did not help ensure that his family line continued. (“Biographics,” 2018)

Psychoanalytic Approach

Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic approach is primarily focused on the unconscious, in

this case, of Theodore Bundy. This includes the unconscious drives of the libido and thanatos,

the structural model of personality (id, ego, and superego), and defense mechanisms.

The libido is a constructive drive that gives a person limited amounts of energy. (Funder,

D. C., 2016) Libido is the good side of the equation, in that it embodies life, survival, and sexual

drives; whereas, Thanatos is the other unconscious drive, according to Funder, D. C. (2016). This

drive is destructive, and it represents death, destruction, aggression. (Funder, D. C., 2016) These

two drives have to be balanced out to make the person whole. So, if too much energy is focused

on Thanatos then the libido’s jobs are not going to be done and vice versa. (Funder, D. C., 2016)

That puts the person out of balance and to rebalance them, Freud said that there are two ways to

go about this. The first in by homeostasis. Homeostasis is, by definition, an internal

“thermometer” or “scale” that will reset and rebalance the any internal problems. The second

way is by defense mechanisms. And the two energies are not the only thing that the defense

mechanisms protect or rebalance.

The defense mechanisms protect the ego, which is the mediator between the id and the

superego. The id is an impulsive part of a person’s personality. (Funder, D. C., 2016) It has basic

needs and wants that wants to be sated the moment it needs or wants something. (Funder, D. C.,

2016) The superego is the moral aspect of a personality, according to Funder, D. C. (2016). It is
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rigorous and idealistic. (Funder, D. C., 2016) Then, the ego, is in the middle, it is based in reality

and uses logic, reasoning, and rationality to try to balance the two feuding aspects of people’s

personalities. (Funder, D. C., 2016) Freud has a list of eight defense mechanisms, however, only

two are relevant for Ted Bundy: (1) rationalization and (2) projection. Bundy has a famous quote

about pornography that is essentially him trying to logically and rationally explain why he, and

others in the prison, according to Bundy, was capable of murder and other heinous crimes. By

doing this, he is potentially trying to shield his ego from the anxiety that would come along with

this type of immoral activity.

Humanistic and Cross-Cultural Approach

Richard Ryan and Edward Deci’s self-determination theory speaks to hedonia and

eudaimonia and the distinct differences between the two. (Funder, D. C., 2016) Hedonia is

seeking and maximizing pleasure while avoiding and minimizing pain to the exclusion of other

goals. (Funder, D. C., 2016) Hedonists would live a life based on “selfishness, materialism,

objectified sexuality and ecological destructiveness.” (Funder, D. C., 2016) Eudaimonia is

seeking intrinsic goals, or goals that have a value of their own, rather than an extrinsic goal, or

goals that are a means to an end. (Funder, D. C., 2016) To further break down the goals, Ryan

and Deci breaks down the intrinsic goals into three. The first is autonomy where one makes their

own way. (Funder, D. C., 2016) The second goal is competence whereby one finds what they are

good at and get better at that thing. (Funder, D. C., 2016) The final goal is relatedness where one

establishes meaningful relationships with others. (Funder, D. C., 2016) As for extrinsic goals, the

most common goal, according to Funder, D. C. (2016), is money.

Bundy would fall firmly into the hedonia category. He was constantly seeking pleasure to

the exclusion of other goals, particularly the goals of others to feel safe and to be alive. And he
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tried to avoid pain by twice escaping custody where he knew that if he stayed in prison, he would

have to face the consequences of his actions earlier. He did not seek goals that have a value to

themselves. He sought goals that would benefit and give pleasure to him. This is evident even

when he chose what he was going to major in, where he worked, those he worked with. All of

these elements of his life were sought because he was trying to achieve a higher socioeconomic

status, more money, and to help him chase after a woman he was pinning for. (“Biographics,”

2018; “Ted Bundy,” 2018) These are classic characteristics of hedonia as defined by Ryan and

Deci.

Culturally, Ted Bundy is different from even others in the United States and is different

from others in different countries. For example, Bundy was born and raised in the north part of

the United States and spent most of his life in those areas. So, he has cultural difference from

someone from say the mid-west America or the south. Some of these differences are he broke the

law that he should not harm others, both the biblical and the actual law, and he worked hard for

his version of achievement. Bundy broke a more that is one of the most taboo of all, murder. He

achieved his “success” when he managed to kill as many victims that he could before he was

caught. A difference between cultures is that Bundy grew up in a religious family that went to

church. He broke two of the ten commandments (“shall not harm” and “shall not kill”) which is

morally illegal. Funder, D. C. (2016) mentions that etics, universal components of an idea, and

emics, particular aspects of an idea, are as different as night and day. An example of an etic is

murder. Most people understand the idea of murder, the taking of someone else’s life. However,

an example of emic is the types of murder, how someone kills someone else. For example,

nurses and doctors typically have mercy killings or angles of death (two types of murder),
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whereas, the police have “suicide-by-cop” (where a person forces the police to shoot and kill

them).

Learning and Cognitive Approach

Bundy was taught, in a way, to become the man that he was. One of the learning methods

that he was taught with was classical conditioning. Classical conditioning targets emotional and

low-level behavioral responses. (Funder, D. C., 2016) This includes things like salivating.

(Funder, D. C., 2016) The way that classical conditioning works is that an unconditioned

stimulus is paired with an unconditioned response, then the unconditioned stimulus is paired with

a conditioned stimulus, and finally, the conditioned stimulus is paired with the conditioned

response. (Funder, D. C., 2016) An example using Ted Bundy was when he started to learn how

what it was to be aroused for himself. The unconditioned stimulus is the “soft pornography”

which is paired with arousal, the unconditioned response. Then he took the “soft pornography”

and paired it with being a peeping Tom, as the conditioned stimulus. Finally, Bundy paired the

peeping Tom routine with arousal. This creates an emotional response for Bundy to start with his

deviant behaviors.

Another learning method that Bundy participated in was operant conditioning. This is

when the above deviant behaviors were reinforced. There are two types of operant conditioning,

reinforcements and punishments, with two subtypes, positive and negative. Positive and negative

means that something is introduced and something is taken away. (Funder, D. C., 2016)

Reinforcements are meant to increase the probability of the desired behavior happening again.

(Funder, D. C., 2016) Punishments are “supposed” to decrease the probability of the undesirable

behavior happening again. (Funder, D. C., 2016) For example, when Bundy started being a
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peeping Tom, he was positively reinforced because he was getting aroused at watching the

women and fantasizing without getting into trouble.

A cognitive theory that relates to Ted Bundy is Walter Mischel’s cognitive person

variables theory. It states that individual differences in personality come from four variables that

characterize the cognitive system. (Funder, D. C., 2016) The first variable is called cognitive and

behavioral construction competencies. (Funder, D. C., 2016) The competencies compromise

one’s mental abilities and behavioral skills, including creativity, intelligence quotient (IQ), social

skills, and occupational abilities. (Funder, D. C., 2016) The second variable is encoding

strategies and personal constructs. (Funder, D. C., 2016) This variable encompasses a person’s

ideas about how to categorize the world and beliefs about one’s capabilities, also known as

efficacy expectations, and may include other beliefs about ones’ self. (Funder, D. C., 2016) A

third variable is subjective stimulus values, and this notion resembles an earlier social learning

theory that states that an individual’s beliefs about probability of attaining goals when pursued

and include people’s different values of rewarding outcomes. (Funder, D. C., 2016) The final

variable is self-regulatory systems and plans; whereby, this is a set of procedures that control

behavior; those procedures are self-reinforcement and purposeful alteration of the situations

selected. (Funder, D. C., 2016) Mischel used this theory to develop strategies to delay

gratification. One of these strategies is visualizing the object they are waiting on as something

else. (Funder, D. C., 2016)

Mishcel’s cognitive person variables theory is related to Ted Bundy because Bundy,

according to this theory chose to become the serial killer that he became. He was intelligent

enough that he could have found a way to avoid all of the fiendish crimes he committed. Bundy

could have encoded differently. Instead of fantasizing about raping, mutilating, and killing his
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victims, he could have visualized something else, like reading in a calming area. Thirdly, Bundy

valued his enjoyment and pleasure above his victims lives and bodies. This could have been

changed if he had decided to have a different goal. Instead of killing, he could have tried to

achieve the goal of a high-ranking judge. For the final variable, Bundy could have made it so that

he was not in an environment or situation that would have triggered his want of killing. Instead,

Bundy hunted out his victims.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Bundy has such a diverse personality that many of these approaches and

their individual psychologists would have a had a good time trying to determine what his true

personality was. The Trait Approach would state that Bundy was typically was hard to diagnose

because he was able to mask his inability to fully integrate with society but that he was mostly an

emotionally stable introvert that was organized. Biological Approach psychologists would argue

that he was the way he was just because he was “programed” that way because of the amount of

chemicals that were in his body, the serotonin, dopamine, and testosterone. They would also

argue that he evolved in such a way that he preyed, and mated with, on those who would have

been a good choice to have his offspring but he was not quite evolved enough to ensure that he

would have been a protector. The Psychoanalytic Approach would have said that his superego

was not as developed as it should have been and that his ego was in a state of rationalization and

projection that protected itself from the anxiety of what he had done and what the consequences

were. Then, the Humanistic and Cross-Cultural Approach would have said that he was a

hedonistic personality that would have rather had pleasure than pain and that he broke many of

the norms and mores of most cultures within the United States and around the world. Finally, the

Learning and Cognitive Approach would have said that he taught himself that it was acceptable
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to start out with small deviant behaviors, such as being a peeping Tom, and then slowly working

his way into more sever deviant behaviors.

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References

Biographics. (2018, January 10). Ted Bundy Biography: Profile of a Serial Killer. Retrieved

April 25, 2018, from http://biographics.org/ted-bundy-biography-profile-serial-killer/

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