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Role of environment in human development and behavior
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2 page eassy about ted bundy
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Ted Bundy is one of the most infamous, sadistic serial killers known to man. During his tenure as a killer, Bundy confessed to the murders of 30 women, though the official number of kills is unknown to this day. Bundy’s sadistic habits began at an early age due to his rough upbringing and abusive parents. His tactical methods of killing left miniscule amounts of evidence, which remained undetectable by the “still rudimentary forensics techniques of the 1970s” (Crime Museum). Bundy also managed to uphold an impressive “clean-cut appearance” and portrayed characteristics of an “upstanding character” (Crime Museum). Ted Bundy, through the course of a troubled childhood and keen wit, managed to successfully become known as one of the most infamous …show more content…
These experiences include personally observing others acting aggressively to achieve some goal or watching people being rewarded for violent acts on television or in movies” (Siegel 138). Social learning theory can be attributed to Ted Bundy based on his rough childhood. He was raised by his grandparents, who lied and said that his mother was his sister, which Bundy did not figure out until later in life. Bundy also did not know the true origin of his father, which stirred up inconsistent rumors that his father was actually his grandpa, meaning his birth was from an insetious rape (Michaud & Aynesworth 56). His grandpa was reported as being abusive to his children and acted in a vulgar and violent manner (Michaud & Aynesworth 330). Based on social learning theory, Bundy learned how to act violent from his grandfather, which led to him becoming a serial killer. “The boy who sees his father repeatedly strike his mother with impunity is likely to become a battering partner and husband” (Siegel …show more content…
Society and media also played a role in creating Bundy. “Children learn what they see––and unfortunately, in our country through news reports, movies, and television, and everyday life in many parts of our country, children see violence; and they do not learn that violence is bad. Too often, they learn that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflict; furthermore, many children, because of their home and neighborhood environments, have little opportunity to learn about alternative ways to settle disputes” (Osofsky 4). Bundy watched his grandfather act violently and vulgar, leading to him partaking in similar behaviors. Social learning theory can be placed at the forefront of reasoning for Bundy’s actions, but all of the factors that lead to the creation of his vicious, sadistic crimes may never be
Social learning theory was first developed by Robert L. Burgess and Ronald L Akers in 1966 (Social Learning theory, 2016). In 1973, Akers wrote a book entitled Deviant Behaviour: A Social Learning Approach, which discussed Aker’s conception of the social learning theory. He developed social learning theory by extending Sutherland’s theory of differential association (Cochran & Sellers, 2017). Social learning theory is based on the principles of Pavlov’s operant and classical conditioning. Akers believes that crime is like any other social behavior because it is learned through social interaction (Social Learning theory, 2016). Social learning theory states that the probability of an individual committing a crime or engaging in criminal behaviour is increased when they differentially associate with others who commit criminal behavior (Cochran & Sellers, 2017). Social learning theory is classified as a general theory of crime, and has been used to explain many types of criminal behaviour (Social Learning theory, 2016). Furthermore, social learning theory is one of the most tested contemporary theories of crime. There are four fundamental components of social learning theory; differential association, definitions, differential reinforcement and imitation (Social Learning theory,
Charney-Perez, J. (2005, April 1). “History of Serial Killers”. Serial Killers. Retrieved April 23, 2014, http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spring05/charney-perez/history.htm
Ted Bundy is without a doubt one of the most notorious serial killers America has ever known. Active from 1974 to 1978, Ted Bundy has been linked to at least 36 murders but it is widely believed that he slaughtered more than 100 women. Ted Bundys victims were sexually assaulted then slaughtered. The locations of his kills were Washington, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Florida, Idaho, and Vermont.
Similarly, the social learning theory explains Wilson’s criminal history. Wilson learned criminal behavior from his neighbors and family members. Wilson has an older brother named Uzziah Wilson that has been arrested numerous times for gun possession, assault, and drug charges. Wilson grew up thinking criminal behavior is the only way to succeed in life.
Ted Bundy Ted Bundy's Trail of Terror From the Beginning of Taking Life Until The End of His Life. Serial killers tend to be white heterosexual males in their twenties and thirties. While it is impossible to predict who will become a serial killer, there are traits that appear to be similar in all killers. These behaviors include cruelty to animals, bedwetting, lying, drug and alcohol abuse, and a history of violence. According to Robert Ressler et al., "serial homicide involves the murder of separate victims with time breaks between victims, as minimal as two days to weeks or months.
But what many didn’t know, by the time he was 15, he was already an accomplished shoplifter. As his darker self started to surface, he roamed the streets late at night to peer into the windows of young woman to watch them undress. Bundy was also a heavy drinker and enjoyed looking at violent porn magazines which he later claimed was associated with what drove him into fantasizing and taking action in the killings. He “has met a lot of men who were motivated to commit violence… and without exception, without questions, every one of them was deeply involved in
...words of Ted Bundy, one of the most ruthless serial killers of our time: "Most serial killers are people who kill for the pure pleasure of killing and cannot be rehabilitated. Some of the killers themselves would even say so" (qtd. in Holmes and Deburger 150).
Tio Hardiman, the creator of the Violence Interrupters Program, said, “You can give them a history lesson. Your daddy was violent, your granddaddy was violent, and your great granddaddy was violent. And now your brothers are messed up because you misled them” (James et al., 2012). He is describing how violence is a learned behavior from your family and close peers. Hardiman goes on to tell a little about his own family’s history with violence. When he was fourteen, a man tried to hurt him in the streets, but his stepfather killed the man right in front of him, and he recalls feelings good about it. This family taught him violence was okay through their own
Introduction: On the spectrum of criminal activity, serial killers are rather rare. Rarer still is a serial killer like Ted Bundy. Bundy confessed to killing 28 women in the 1970s in ghastly fashion and some believe he may have killed far more. It is hard to imagine what could cause any person to cross the mental boundary into such macabre behavior as Bundy perpetrated. Nevertheless, it is important to try to understand that behavior because only though such an understanding would society be able to identify and deter mass murderers in order to save lives.
But in ted's case we could use the term “little” loosely. Bundy became fascinated with knifes at the age of only 3 years old. ted once took knifes and assembled a circle of them around his aunt while she was sleeping which was a really macabre sight.(bio.com np). So ted was intrigued by knives since he was 3 and that kept with him his whole life. At the age of 7 ted began having behavioral issues at school with other kids. As ted got older he began to drift away from the social world and by the time he was high school he had no self confidence and was unable to react to social problems. This was due to the break up with his first girlfriend. So after his break up he couldn't assimilate to the high school social world as well as he's had in the past. As time went on Ted Bundy started to kill women. These women all looked like his first girlfriend from high school. Ted bundy ending up killing over 100 women during his killing spree.
Through Social Learning Theory, an individual can be studied based on the behavior acquired by a role model. Verbal conditioning procedures and observation influences the response to an individual’s personality. Environment factors contribute to the Social Learning Theory. Antisocial model is a major contribute to crime, which influences negative characteristics. The Social Leaning Theory has three core social concepts the must be followed: observational learning, intrinsic reinforcement and modeling process.
High crime rates are an ongoing issue through the United States, however the motivation and the cause of crime has yet to be entirely identified. Ronald Akers would say that criminality is a behavior that is learned based on what an individual sees and observes others doing. When an individual commits a crime, he or she is acting on impulse based on actions that they have seen others engage in. Initially during childhood, individuals learn actions and behavior by watching and listening to others, and out of impulse they mimic the behavior that is observed. Theorist Ronald Akers extended Sutherland’s differential association theory with a modern viewpoint known as the social learning theory. The social learning theory states that individuals commit crime through their association with or exposure to others. According to Akers, people learn how to be offenders based on their observations around them and their association with peers. Theorist Akers states that for one, “people can become involved in crime through imitation—that is by modeling criminal conduct. Second, and most significant, Akers contended that definition and imitation are most instrumental in determining initial forays into crime” (Lilly, Cullen, and Ball 2011:57). Although Akers’ theory has been linked to juvenile delinquency in the past, it has also been tested as a possible cause of crime overall. Individuals learn from observation that criminal behavior is justifiable in certain circumstances. In connection with juvenile delinquency and crime, peers and intimate groups have the most effect on individuals when associated with criminal behavior. One is more likely to mimic the behavior of someone who they have close ties with, whether the behavior is justifiable or...
Some scholars have argued that during the developmental years of childhood such impulses are absent. Moreover, it is during the period known as puberty that such process is more prevalent, and therefore manifests itself in behaviors such as attractions to one and other (Freud, 2015). In other words, the argument is that children are not aware of sex or sexual behavior until they have reached the age of puberty. Today, it appears that the argument is still being made that men and women develop desires at and every age, however, such impulses are not acceptable until they reach a certain age bracket. During his final interview, Ted Bundy provided some revealing details about his childhood. He explain that he believed that some of his compulsions were associated with pornography which he had seen in his youth. However, he was able to control his behavior until he had graduated college (Nelson, 1994). This statements inferred that Bundy was able hold back his desires for a number of years. However, some researchers have argued that Bundy’s behavior was triggered after his relationship had ended with his college sweetheart. Bundy never revealed his true motives for his attacks that consisted in savagely raping and latter beating his victims to
Akers and Sellers (2013) has stated that social learning theory is an expanded theory of differential association processes and improves it with differential reinforcement and other principles of the behavior theory. They added classical conditioning (the sharpening of involuntary reflex behavior); discriminative stimuli (internal stimuli that lead to signals for behavior); schedules of reinforcement (rewards and punishment ratio following behavioral feedback); and other theories of behavior (Akers & Sellers, 2013).
Behavior and social learning are two theories that are inherently intertwined. Behavior to some extent is taught for social reasons, and social learning can very much shape and create behaviors. While behavior is something intentionally taught, social learning can teach and reinforce many unintentional behaviors, such as dishonesty or aggression. In order to adequately discuss these two interrelated topics, theory exploration is in order.