Donald Trump 'possesses stronger psychopathic tendencies than Adolf Hitler'

'Psychopathic tendencies': Presidential hopeful Donald Trump
Reuters
Hannah Al-Othman22 August 2016

US presidential candidate Donald Trump possesses stronger psychopathic tendencies than Adolf Hitler, academics from the University of Oxford have suggested.

Researchers assessed this year's candidates for the White House to determine how highly they ranked on the psychopath scale.

They were scored on a number of personality traits typical in psychopaths - including fearlessness, cold-heartedness and egocentricity.

While the study found Donald Trump's score puts him in the company of some of history's greatest despots, including Hitler and Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, his opponent Hillary Clinton found herself alongside Napoleon Bonaparte and Emperor Nero.

The study contended that although psychopathy - typically associated with remorseless killers - exists along a spectrum, some people can possess certain qualities without developing murderous intent.

It claimed that it was not just barbarous leaders who populated the upper echelons of the rankings - as Saint Paul and even Jesus appeared high on the psychopathic leaderboard, as did Henry VIII and Winston Churchill.

It added that possessing such tendencies might not be to the presidential candidates' detriment, as the right combination of psychopathic characteristics can make for a good leader.

Experts on the political figures were asked to answer 56 questions from the psychopathic personality inventory-revised (PPI-R) test to determine a score.

Mr Trump scored especially highly in the fearless dominance category, and outstripped Hitler on factors including social influence and fearlessness, while the genocidal Nazi dictator scored higher on "Machiavellian egocentricity" and cold-heartedness.

While ranking lower than her rival overall, Mrs Clinton far exceeded tyrannical Roman emperor Nero on traits such as "Machiavellian egocentricity".

Study author Dr Kevin Dutton said: "The PPI-R does not say that someone is or is not a psychopath. It scores them on eight traits that contribute to a psychopathic character.

"Some of those traits, such as fearlessness or stress immunity, can be positive. Others, such as blame externalisation or being unconcerned about the future, are more likely to be negative. One, cold-heartedness, can contribute to good and bad leadership.

"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."

The findings were published in the the journal Scientific American Mind.

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