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A Case Study: Theodore Bundy

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Case Study: Theodore Bundy
Jeana Avery
PSY 410
University of Phoenix
Jan 27, 2010

Case Study: Theodore Bundy
This paper will look at the case study of the serial killer Ted Bundy, who had antisocial personality disorder. Background of Bundy’s life will be provided, as well as the definition and criteria of antisocial personality disorder. Last, the paper will look at the biological, emotional, and cognitive causes of antisocial personality disorder.

Background Theodore Bundy was born November 11, 1946 in Burlington, Vermont. Bundy never knew his biological father, and was raised in his early years by his grandparents, who Bundy believed were his parents. Bundy’s mother, whom he believed to be his sister, eventually took Bundy from his grandparent’s home and remarried. Three children resulted from his mother’s marriage to Johnnie Bundy, and Ted Bundy reacted with anger, resentment, and jealousy. Bundy did well in school, attended Sunday school, and was an avid skier. However, Bundy was haunted by his illegitimacy, and his mother’s resentment towards him. Bundy’s step-father would become violent when provoked, and Bundy felt overlooked, unsupported, and ignored. As a child, Bundy looked at naked pictures of women, obsessed about material possessions, and was humiliated by his family’s economic status. Due to Bundy’s lack of social skills, Bundy was shy, introverted, and felt inferior to others (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009).
“I am the most cold-blooded son of a bitch you’ll ever meet. I just like to kill, I wanted to kill” (Ted Bundy, as quoted in LaBrode, 2007, p. 154). Ted Bundy’s first documented murder occurred in Seattle in January, 1974. Over the next seven months, five more women were murdered. The murders continued until Bundy was arrested in August, 1975. Bundy was able to escape jail through use of his charm, intelligence, and

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