Psychopathic Traits Test Puts Trump Above Hitler, Clinton Below Napoleon, Gandhi At Bottom, Jesus In The Middle

A new study of personality traits by Oxford University psychologist Dr Kevin Dutton finds that the 2016 US presidential nominees of both major parties, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, score much higher than the general population when it comes to displaying psychopathic tendencies.

Both Trump and Clinton score among the top 20 percent in the league table which lists former leaders like Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Adolf Hitler, Jesus Christ, Winston Churchill and Napoleon Bonaparte.

Saddam tops the league with a huge score of 189. He is followed by Henry VIII of England (178), and Idi Amin of Uganda (176).

Trump with a score of 171 ranks just above Hitler (169). Hillary Clinton scores 152 and ranks above Emperor Nero (151) but below Napoleon (153).

Jesus (157) is barely ahead of the Britain Prime Minister during World War II, Winston Churchill (155). With the lowest score of 119, M.K. Gandhi stands at the bottom.

However, psychopathic traits do not necessarily mean a jail term for a person who exhibits them or that they are more likely to be genocidal demagogues. These traits could, of course, be of benefit.

Dutton says that being a psychopath is not an all-or-nothing affair. Instead, psychopathy is on a spectrum along which each of us has our place.

However, some professions like business, the law, military, politics tend to attract more than their fair share of those high on the psychopathic scale.

One might wonder how Dr Dutton calculated these scores for centuries-old historical figures. He contacted the official biographers of many historical leaders and asked them to fill out an abbreviated version of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory – Revised (PPI-R), evaluating those leaders on both the positive aspects like social influence, fearlessness and coolness under pressure and negative traits like self-centredness, impulsivity and a lack of empathy.

Those who score highly for being influential, fearless and cold hearted could be decisive leaders. But if those traits are accompanied by a high score on blaming others, then such leaders might be highly dangerous.

Dr Dutton explains that the mix of positive and negative traits determines success.

For analysing US presidential nominees, Dr Dutton worked with a political correspondent who filled out the PPI-R short version for the candidates.

Trump scores much higher compared to other candidates in ‘fearless dominance’, a positive trait, but he also outscores others in ‘self-centred impulsivity’, the set of traits considered negative.

Dr Dutton notes that while both Trump and Clinton score relatively highly, it will be up to voters to decide whether their mix of positive and negative traits should send them to the Oval Office or the psychiatrist’s office.

It is important to point out here that one shouldn’t disregard the biases of the correspondent or biographers of historical figures that may have crept into the scores. So, these should be taken with a pinch of salt.

In any case, the majority of voters are going to vote with their hearts weighing the candidates’ positions rather than looking at a ‘league table’ which can be highly subjective reflecting biases of those who filled out the forms on these leaders’ behalf.

You can read the complete research paper in the journal Scientific American here when it is published on 1 September.