Serial Killers
Are serial killers created by nature or through nurture?
Explaining serial killer Ted Bundy's behaviour.
Using Psychology Approaches
SOCIAL
A major influence on people's behaviour, thought processes and emotions are other people and the society they have created. In Ted Bundy's case this influence may have come from his intimate relationships and his discovery that his alleged sister was actually his mum the entire time.
When there's a division in groups, prejudice arises simply from the awareness that there are other groups different from one's own group which is referred to as the “out-group”. Tajfel & Turner’s social identity theory states that individuals need to maintain a positive sense of personal and social identity. This is partly achieved by emphasizing the desirability of one’s own group, focusing on distinctions between other “lesser” groups. Ted Bundy's cocky attitude and actions may reflect these ideas as all of his victims had physical similarities. Bundy could have seen them as the out-group and held a strong sense of prejudice against them as a result of his social interactions in the past.
COGNITIVE
The cognitive approach assumes that a person’s thoughts are responsible for their behaviour. The model deals with how information is processed in the brain and the impact of this on behaviour.
Assumptions:
Maladaptive behaviour is caused by faulty and irrational cognitions.
It is the way one thinks about a problem, rather than the problem itself that causes mental disorders.
Individuals can overcome mental disorders by learning to use more appropriate cognitions.
The individual is an active processor of information. How a person, perceives, anticipates and evaluates events rather than the events themselves, which will have an impact on behaviour. In people with psychological problems these thought processes tend to be negative and the cognitions (such as attributions, cognitive errors) made will be inaccurate. These cognitions cause distortions in the way we see things; Ellis suggested it is through irrational thinking while Beck proposed the cognitive triad. Bundy's behaviour could be explained by the way he perceived and processed his discovery that his supposed sister was actually his mother. In addition, his past intimate relationships may have also been processed irrationally resulting in maladaptive behaviour.
PSYCHODYNAMIC
Personality has three structures: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id, a base of unconscious psychic energy, operates on the pleasure principle, seeks immediate gratification, and is not restrained by reality. It operates solely at the unconscious level. The ego, which develops in early childhood, operates through the reality principle, which seeks to gratify impulses of the id realistically and to bring long‐term pleasure without pain. The ego operates at both the conscious and pre‐conscious levels. The superego, a third structure, emerges as children reach 4 or 5 and internalize the morals of parents and society. The superego acts as a voice of conscience and operates mostly at the preconscious level of awareness. People also possess and are driven by a psychological energy called the libido.
Children pass through a series of psychosexual stages during which the id seeks pleasure from body areas, erogenous zones, that change during development. If children have difficulty passing through a particular stage, they are said to have become fixated.
Psychopathology can result if an individual does not pass through the stages of psychosexual development and becomes fixated, or fails to pass to the next stage an example being Ted Bundy