Students Present Research at Scholarship Day

Emily Berg, Cassidy Smith, and Thomas Baker (pictured with faculty research moderator Dr. Aubrey Immelman) presented their research project, “The Political Personality of President Donald Trump in Office,” at the 18th annual Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day, April 26, 2018, in the Great Hall at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (April 27, 2018) — Psychological profiles of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un were presented on April 26, 2018, at “Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day,” an annual event to recognize students, faculty, and staff who have undertaken significant research, scholarship, or creative works during the past academic year at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict.

Undergraduate students in a Personality Psychology course at the colleges conducted the research under the auspices of the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics, directed by Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology.

Biographical and life history data concerning the candidates were collected from media reports and synthesized into personality profiles using the third edition of the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC). Following are abstracts of the poster presentations.

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The Political Personality
of President Donald Trump in Office

Meghan Keaveny, Jamie McCarthy, Thomas Baker, Emily Berg, Erin Titus, Cassidy Smith, and Aubrey Immelman
Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics
April 26, 2018

Abstract

A remote psychological assessment of Donald Trump in his capacity as president of the United States was conducted from 2017 to 2018. Psychodiagnostically relevant data regarding Trump were extracted from biographical sources and media reports published after his inauguration as president on January 20, 2017, and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with DSM–III–R, DSM–IV, and DSM–5. The primary purpose of this study, which will continue throughout the Trump presidency, was to compare Trump’s public personality in office to his personality prior to assuming political office, as assessed during the 2016 presidential election cycle.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed in accordance with interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC and Millon Index of Personality Styles manuals. Trump’s primary personality patterns were found to be Ambitious/exploitative and Dominant/controlling, infused with secondary Outgoing/congenial and Dauntless/adventurous features, possibly supplemented by a slight Erratic/unstable tendency.

In summary, Trump can be characterized as a highly confident, dominant extravert, based on the amalgam of Ambitious, Dominant, and Outgoing patterns in his overall personality profile.

Ambitious individuals are bold, competitive, and self-assured; they easily assume leadership roles, expect others to recognize their special qualities, and often act as though entitled. Dominant individuals enjoy the power to direct others and to evoke obedience and respect; they are tough and unsentimental and often make effective leaders. Outgoing individuals are dramatic attention‑getters who thrive on being the center of social events, go out of their way to be popular with others, have confidence in their social abilities, tend to be impulsive and undisciplined, and become easily bored — especially when faced with repetitive or mundane tasks. Dauntless individuals tend to flout tradition, dislike following routine, sometimes act impulsively and irresponsibly, and are inclined to elaborate on or shade the truth and skirt the law.

Trump’s major personality strengths in a political role are his confident assertiveness, personal charisma, and persuasiveness. His major personality-based shortcomings are of a temperamental nature: impulsiveness and a lack of emotional restraint and self-discipline.

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The Personality Profile
of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un

김정은

Katlin Rice, Austen Luetmer, Suntina Spehar, Hillary Rethlake, Lucas Vetsch, Amanda Olson, Mariah Ogden-Kellington, and Aubrey Immelman
Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics
April 26, 2018

Abstract

A remote psychological assessment of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was conducted from 2017 to 2018. Psychodiagnostically relevant data regarding Kim were extracted from open-source media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with DSM–III–R, DSM–IV, and DSM–5.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed in accordance with interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC and Millon Index of Personality Styles manuals. Kim’s primary personality patterns were found to be Outgoing/gregarious and Dominant/controlling, supplemented by secondary Ambitious/confident, Dauntless/adventurous, and Accommodating/cooperative features. Given his Outgoing–Dominant primary personality composite, Kim may be classified as a high-dominance extravert.

Outgoing individuals are dramatic attention‑getters who thrive on being the center of social events, go out of their way to be popular with others, and are confident in their social skills; they may have an impulsive tendency and be prone to boredom. Dominant individuals enjoy the power to direct others and to evoke obedience and respect; they can be tough and unsentimental and often make effective leaders. Ambitious individuals are bold, competitive, and self-assured; they easily assume leadership roles, expect others to recognize their special qualities, and may act as though entitled. Dauntless individuals tend to flout tradition, conventional standards, and cultural mores, dislike following routine, and may act impulsively and recklessly; they are resistant to coercion and may exhibit a strong need for autonomy and self-determination. Accommodating individuals are notably cordial, cooperative, and amicable; they are willing to adapt their preferences to be compatible with those of others, to reconcile differences to achieve peaceable solutions, and to concede or compromise when necessary.

Kim Jong-un’s major personality-based leadership strength is a distinctly outgoing tendency, supplemented by an accommodating inclination, a fitting descriptive label for which would be congenial–cooperative. Leaders matching this profile can be expected to be jovial, socially gregarious, agreeable, accommodating, and obliging in their relationships with others; they are characteristically gracious, neighborly, and benevolent, pre­ferring to avoid conflict and seek harmony with others.

Lucas Vetsch, Amanda Olson, and Austen Luetmer present “The Personality Profile of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un” at St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minn., April 26, 2018. According to the study, “Kim Jong-un’s major personality-based leadership strength is a distinctly outgoing tendency, supplemented by an accommodating inclination, a fitting descriptive label for which would be congenial–cooperative. Leaders matching this profile can be expected to be jovial, socially gregarious, agreeable, accommodating, and obliging in their relationships with others; they are characteristically gracious, neighborly, and benevolent, pre­ferring to avoid conflict and seek harmony with others.”

Topical reports on this site

President Donald Trump to Meet North Korea’s Kim Jong-un
(March 9, 2018)

The Personality Profile of 2016 Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump (Aug. 9, 2015)

The Personality Profile of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un (April 8, 2013)

Research papers

The Personality Profile of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. Working paper, Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics, St. John’s University/College of St. Benedict, April 2018. Abstract and link for full-text (32 pages; PDF) download at Digital Commons: https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/psychology_pubs/119/

The Leadership Style of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. Working paper, Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics, St. John’s University/College of St. Benedict, June 2018. Abstract and link for full-text (17 pages; PDF) download at Digital Commons: https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/psychology_pubs/120/

The Political Personality of 2016 Republican Presidential Nominee Donald J. Trump. Working paper, Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics, St. John’s University/College of St. Benedict, October 2016. Abstract and link for full-text (31 pages; PDF) download at Digital Commons: http://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/psychology_pubs/103/

The Leadership Style of U.S. President Donald J. Trump. Working paper, Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics, St. John’s University/College of St. Benedict, January 2017. Abstract and link for full-text (14 pages; PDF) download at Digital Commons: http://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/psychology_pubs/107/