The Telegraph: Donald Trump outscores Hitler on psychopathic traits test

Donald Trump outscores Adolf Hitler on a test used to determine psychopathic traits, while Hillary Clinton ranks between Napoleon and Nero, a researcher at Oxford University has found.

Psychologist Dr Kevin Dutton ranked the psychopathic traits of the US presidential hopefuls and historical figures using a standard psychometric tool – the Psychopathic Personality Inventory – Revised (PPI-R).

Mr Trump did not sit the tests himself but experts on political figures gave their opinions on how he would have scored against the questions to measure PPI-R.

While Hitler scored an overall 169 points, Mr Trump was slightly higher with 171. Margaret Thatcher scored 136 points and Elizabeth I was 130.

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.”

Read on for the full article on The Telegraph