Presidential Psychopathy

By Pavel G. Somov, Ph.D.

psychopath president Food for thought (to go along with my 2010 post Psychology of Presidential Ambition):

“Overall, the study found, presidents tended to be more like psychopaths than the general population in their level of fearless dominance, but they didn’t show a psychopathic excess of impulsive antisocial behavior.”

“[B]old leadership isn’t just a quality found in psychopaths — or presidents. Everyone falls somewhere along the scale, from timid to bold, from follower to leader. And psychopathic traits like fearless dominance — or others like impulsivity, callousness and dishonesty — also appear in varying degrees in the general population.”

“Shadings of potential pathology are found in everyone.”

Source: The Psychopathic Trait Successful Presidents Have in Common

(by Maia Szalavitz, TIME.com)

President photo available from Shutterstock

Pavel Somov, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and the author of "Eating the Moment" (New Harbinger, 2008), "Present Perfect" (NH, 2010), "The Lotus Effect" (NH, 2010), "Smoke Free Smoke Break" (2011), and "Reinventing the Meal" (2012). He is in private practice in Pittsburgh, PA. His book website is www.eatingthemoment.com

Marla Somova, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in private practice and an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Counseling at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, PA. She is the co-author of "Smoke Free Smoke Break" (2011).

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Last reviewed: 16 Sep 2012

APA Reference
Somov, P. (2012). Presidential Psychopathy. Psych Central. Retrieved on May 22, 2013, from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/mindful-living/2012/09/presidential-psychopathy/