Ted Bundy Social Control Theory

I believe that the Social Control Theory best explains Ted Bundy’s criminal behavior. In the Social Control Theory the deviants care about what others think about them and then conform to social expectations because they accept what other expect. Bundy’s true and first love broke up with him after she felt that he didn’t “have a successful future”. Bundy accepted this expectation of himself so he dropped out of school. It was during this time that he began his killing spree to gain confidence. The Social Control Theory also states that when attachments to social bonds are weakened that deviance can occur. Bundy had a very unusual family situation. For most of his young life he grew up believing that his grandparents were his parents and that his mother was his older sister. Finding out that almost everything he thought to be true was a lie, caused almost all of his family bonds to be completely destroyed. The breakup with his girlfriend also broke a major social bond. The breaking of these bonds, which represented truth and love, is most likely the reason that pushed Bundy to not value Ted Bundy’s childhood was controversial and strained due to his illegitimate birth. Bundy was

Bundy recognised the strain society would place upon him;the ‘bastard boy’and his mum who bore a child out of wedlock(

Michaud & Aynesworth 2000, p.18). Being excluded from this ‘normal’ society could have led to his criminality. The strain Bundy felt to fit into the social norms, which Robert Merton defines as material wealth, could explain Ted Bundy’s stealing as a teenager. Bundy was the prime suspect in a couple of burglaries and became a regular thief. This did not however seem to be adequate for Bundy, who strived for more. Bundy therefore enrolled into university and although he dropped out many times, he went on to gain a degree in psychology and an impeccable job with the Washington