documentary of Ted Bundy

documentary of Ted Bundy

Introduction

Criminology theories play a crucial role in explaining and understanding the cause of heinous crimes committed by individuals in society. For instance, Ted Bundy is one of the individuals engaged in the homicide of women in almost seven states in America. The paper will identify the documentary of Ted Bundy explaining his life background and the crimes he committed. The article will also evaluate Agnew’s General Strain Theory and Hirschi’s Social Bond theory to solve the crimes committed by Ted. The two theories will also be compared and identify the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.

Summary of Criminal History

Ted was an American serial killer who killed, raped, and kidnapped many young ladies in the 1970s. However, before his execution, the offender confessed to engaging in thirty homicides, which were committed from 1974 to 1978. The actual number of victims is unknown since they could be higher than he admitted. Ted was revisiting the bodies he had killed and performed sexual acts on the decomposing bodies, and he found pleasure in others’ pain. Bundy’s background and childhood played a significant role in the crimes which they committed in adulthood. For instance, at the age of three, Ted put kitchen knives on her aunt when she was asleep (Murderous Minds: Ted Bundy | Serial Killer Documentary, 2018).

Also, he was brought up by an abusive grandfather who also exposed him to pornography at an early age. His grandfather could cause domestic violence and also tormented the animals in the neighborhood in the presence of Ted. The offender was brought up believing his grandparents were his parents, and his mother was a bigger sister. After realizing the reality, it caused a lot of bitterness in him. Ted’s mother married Johnny, who was not in a good relationship with Ted, and on some occasions, he could beat Ted violently. Therefore, Ted lived a solitary life without fatherly love, and he had the challenge of making friends and spent a lot of time alone. After Stephanie broke up with Ted, it led to a moment of stress, which led him to engage in more homicide crimes. Ted was arrested and convicted of homicide, where he confessed thirty killings in seven states. On January 24, 1989, Ted was executed by an electric chair, and he died at the age of 42 (Murderous Minds: Ted Bundy | Serial Killer Documentary, 2018).

General Strain Theory

According to Agnew general strain theory, the criminal activities are as a result of negative affective states which are associated with destructive social relationships. Agnew provided four categories of strain which play a crucial role for an individual to engage in deviant behaviors. Failure of a person to achieve the positively valued objectives in society leads to an individual to commit crimes. Also, the disjunctions between achievements and expectations lead to crime. Elimination of the positive stimuli from an individual’s life leads to engagement in violent and criminal activities. Finally, Agnew proposed that the introduction of negative stimuli leads to delinquency.

According to the strain theory, Agnew argues that stress leads to negative emotions, for instance, anger or depression, which promotes criminal behaviors. Some of the reasons why individuals react to psychological stress with criminal and heinous activities are the lack of coping skills like problem-solving skills and creativity. Also, the negative factors like criminal environment and criminal character have a negative influence in dealing with the stress. Agnew holds that the strains increase the probability of an individual to commit crimes, especially the strains with enormous magnitude and impact. Such strains are associated with low social control and lead to pressure and criminal coping. Crime becomes the possible response for these strains, and the individuals seek revenge from the source of strains or related targets.

Social Bond Theory

The social bond theory was developed by Travis Hirschi, which is based on the assumption that human beings tend to be delinquent naturally. Hirschi argues that individuals with strong and abiding attachments to society are less likely to engage in criminal activities as compared to individuals with weak bonds. Therefore, this theory holds that conformity is generated by social control. Also, Hirschi provides four distinct forms of social bonds that prevent an individual from engaging in deviant behaviors. The four forms of social bond include attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief.

The attachment describes the strength of bonds and relationships which are present in an individual’s social environment. The relationship with the members of the family is essential. Also, other institutions like school and friends play a significant role in maintaining and conforming to the social norms and values. Such attachments prevent an individual from engaging in criminal activities. Commitment is another crucial aspect of the social bond, according to Hirschi, which refers to the level of dedication an individual has invested in common objectives and standards (Siegel, 2019).

If an individual has invested more time and energy, they will avoid engaging in criminal behavior to prevent losing. However, if an individual has invested less in society, the chances to commit crimes are more. Hirschi also argues that involvement in conventional activities lowers the prospects for an individual to commit crimes. Involvement comprises of activities such as raising children, schooling or work. Belief is the extreme form of social bond identified by Hirschi, which refers to belief in the validity of norms and values in mainstream society. If an individual has internalized these norms, it becomes difficult to engage in criminal behavior within the community.

General Strain Theory and Ted Bundy Criminal Activities

General strain theory holds that the harmful strains lead an individual to commit crimes in the society. Ted’s crimes were a result of the pressures, especially during his childhood. The grandfather was so abusive and violent, which led to the development of strains to Ted since he was a young boy. He could witness his grandfather beating members of the family and animals, which exposed Ted to violence at an early age. Also, the grandfather exposed Ted to pornography, which led him to stalk naked women on the windows and developed the urge to rape, which led to homicide cases (Siegel, 2019).

Ted lived believing that his grandparents are parents, and his mother was his elder sister. After realizing the reality, he was in bitterness, which elevated the strains, and he reacted by engaging in criminal activities. After Stephanie broke up with Ted,  was depressed and developed the urge to revenge on the situation. Most of his victims had the hair which resembled Stephanie, which portrayed a pattern in how he committed the crimes. Ted was seeking for revenge since the positive stimuli were eliminated from him according to General Strain Theory (Agnew, Piquero & Cullen, 2006).

Failure to achieve positive stimuli also led Ted to commit the homicides since he could not manage to make friends and maintain the relationship with Stephanie. The General strain theory identifies a lack of coping skills to be the primary factor leading to engagement in crime, which was portrayed by Ted since he could not control his urge for raping and killing young ladies. Ted’s stepfather used to be violent on him, and he usually isolated himself from the members of the family, which led to the development of strains at a young age. Depression from these incidents led him to engage in criminal and heinous activities later in life.

Social Bond Theory and Ted’s Criminal Activities

The social bond theory argues that individuals with weak social bonds have a higher probability of engaging in criminal activities. The social bonds include attachment, involvement, commitment, and belief. Ted had weak social bonds, which was the determining factor in committing the homicides. Lack of family attachment was evident in Ted’s childhood. The grandfather used to beat Ted and had no good relationship with members of the family, which exposed him to violence. Also, the stepfather used to beat Ted, which made him be isolated to the members of the family. Lack of attachment is also portrayed after Stephanie left him and caused a lot of bitterness seeking for revenge. The offender was also not in a position to make friends, and most of the time, was isolated, which led to engagement in criminal activities (Krohn & Massey, 2008).

The social bond theory also argues that lack of commitment leads to involvement in criminal activities. Ted had invested less in society, which increased the chances for him to commit crimes. The offender was moving from one university to another since he found the classes to be irrelevant. Ted was not involved in conventional social standards; for instance, he could not get involved in education adequately.

Therefore, the offender could walk around at night, looking for young women and created a suitable environment for him to commit rape and murder. Also, Ted was not entirely involved in bringing up the children, and he left that responsibility to Liz. Finally, the offender had no belief to conform to social norms and values. The offender had not internalized the standards in mainstream society since he could engage in crimes like burglary, theft, rape, kidnapping, and murder.

Comparison of Theories

General strain theory, according to Agnew, explains the effect of strains in life and their contribution to committing criminal activities. However, the social bond theory offers the social norms which prevent an individual from engaging in criminal behaviors. The social bond theory also provides solutions to engaging in criminal behavior as opposed to general strain theory. However, both theories explain the causes of crime in society and the significant approaches to lessen the crime in the community. General strain theory holds that our common objectives are to have fair treatment and justice, whereas social bond theory argues that individuals should be part of society.

The strength of Agnew’s theory is that it does not concentrate on the lower economic groups. It also explains why some of the offenders engage in criminal activities, and others do not commit crimes. This theory also elaborates why some individuals choose deviant adaptations, and others choose to conform to the social norms. However, this theory has the weakness of being too general (Agnew, 2016).

The social bond theory has various strengths, and for instance, it has strong empirical support. Also, the approach appears to fit with many known patterns and relates to the crimes in contemporary society. The social bond theory is simple with the least assumptions and high explanatory power; also, the hypothesis is testable using this theory. However, this theory has a weakness in concentrating on juveniles alone (Siegel, 2019).

Conclusion

The paper has assessed the documentary on Ted Bundy’s background, childhood, and the crimes he committed. Also, the article has explained the Social Bond Theory by Hirschi and General strain theory, according to Agnew. Ted’s criminal activities have been related to the criminology theories identified. The social bond theory has outlined various social bonds that determine if an individual will engage in criminal activities. The paper has also compared the two theories, even the strengths, and weaknesses of each approach.

References

Agnew, R. (2016). General Strain Theory. Preventing Crime and Violence 21-30. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-44124-5_3

Agnew, R., Piquero, N. L., & Cullen, F. T. (2006). General Strain Theory and White-Collar Crime. The Criminology of White-Collar Crime, 35-60. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-09502-8_3

Krohn, M. D., & Massey, J. L. (2008). Social Control and Delinquent Behavior: An Examination of the Elements of the Social Bond. The Sociological Quarterly, 21(4), 529-544. doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.1980.tb00634.x

Murderous Minds: Ted Bundy | Serial Killer Documentary (2018). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbJzFZlUY7I

Siegel, L. J. (2019). Criminology: The core. Australia: Cengage.