US presidential candidate Donald Trump has more psychopathic traits than Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, according to a recent Oxford study.
Using a standard psychometric tool called the ‘Psychopathic Personality Inventory - Revised (PPI-R)‘, Psychologist Kevin Dutton compared the psychopathic traits of both Trump and Hillary Clinton with historical figures including Hitler. Experts on the political figures were asked to answer 56 questions from the test to get a score.
Trump ranked higher than Hitler on factors like fearlessness and social influence, getting a score of 171 points. Hitler, on the other hand, outstripped Trump on cold-heartedness and Machiavellian egocentricity (a term used to symbolise a sense of detachment to achieve one’s personal goals), getting a score of 169 points.
Apart from social influence, fearlessness, cold-heartedness and egocentricity, the test also measures psychological and personality traits like ruthlessness, self-confidence, charisma, dishonesty and deficits in empathy and conscience.
While ranking lower than Trump overall, his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton far exceeded tyrannical Roman emperor Nero, who ranked 10, on traits such as Machiavellian egocentricity.
Other political figures like Elizabeth I scored 130 points, Margaret Thatcher scored 136, and former President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, topped the list with a score of 189.
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.Kevin Dutton, psychologist
(With inputs from PTI and Scientific American Mind)
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