RT.com, Aug 23, 2016
U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump has more psychopathic traits than Adolf Hitler, a researcher at Oxford University has found.
Psychologist Dr. Kevin Dutton has ranked the psychopathic traits of the Republican candidate and various historical figures using a standard psychometric tool – the Psychopathic Personality Inventory – Revised (PPI-R).
Experts suggested likely scores against a series of questions. Trump scored 171, two points more than Hitler.
Saddam Hussein topped the list, scoring 189, while Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton received a score of 152, putting her in the top 20 per cent. Margaret Thatcher scored 136 points, and Elizabeth I was put at 130.
Dutton says the test scores people on eight traits that contribute to a psychopathic character. They are fearlessness, cold-heartedness, egocentricity, ruthlessness, self-confidence, charisma, dishonesty and deficits in empathy and conscience. “Some of those traits, such as fearlessness or stress immunity, can be positive. Others, such as blame externalization or being unconcerned about the future, are more likely to be negative. One, cold-heartedness, can contribute to good and bad leadership,” Dutton told the Telegraph.
“Both great and terrible leaders score higher than the general population for psychopathic traits, but it is the mix of those traits that determines success.
“For example, someone who scores highly for being influential, fearless and cold hearted could be a decisive leader who can make dispassionate decisions. If those traits are accompanied by a high score on blaming others, they might be a genocidal demagogue,” he said.
Trump outstripped Hitler on factors such as social influence and fearlessness dominance, while the Nazi dictator scored higher on the Machiavellian egocentricity and cold-heartedness.
While ranking lower than her rival overall, Clinton far exceeded Roman emperor Nero on traits such as “Machiavellian egocentricity.”
“It is interesting that these scores reflect both the praise and the criticism that Trump and Clinton receive.
“In the end, while both score relatively highly, it will be up to voters to decide on whether their mix of positive and negative traits should send them to the Oval Office.”
Related readings:
Racism and talk of religious war: Trump staff’s online posts, Associated Press, Aug 22, 2016
Trump casts inner cities as ‘war zones’ in pitch to minority voters, The Hill, Aug 22, 2016
Trump is already helping Putin consolidate control of Ukraine, by Anna Nemtsova, Politico.com, Aug 23, 2016
[In this latest bizarro analysis of the U.S. election campaign, the author writes a paragraph of interest: “Many Ukrainians, torn by their own political scandals and conflicts, say they’re shaken by the level of discourse in the United States, whose democracy many Ukrainian revolutionaries once saw as their compass. The GOP nominee’s laissez-faire attitude toward Ukraine’s future [sic] is a particular contrast to the two previous Republican standard-bearers, Mitt Romney and John McCain, both of whom made strident statements in support of Ukraine’s independence and opposed Putin’s aggression. ‘Trump’s contradictory decisions and the illogical views of some of his supporters resemble a mirror of Russia,’ Natalia Gumenyuk, head of a Ukrainian TV channel called Hromadske, told me.”]
