Science

Wicked Blue

(7,698 posts) Wed Feb 5, 2025, 12:42 PM Feb 5

Donald Trump viewed as higher in Dark Tetrad traits than Joe Biden, study finds

A new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality highlights how perceptions of dark tetrad traits—Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism—in politicians influence voter behavior, focusing on the 2020 U.S. presidential election, comparing perceptions of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

While prior research has studied voters’ personalities, this study centered on the perceived traits of political leaders. Monika Prusik was motivated by global political trends, including the rise of populism and the personalization of politics, to investigate how these traits might affect electoral outcomes.

The study included 456 American participants recruited from MTurk (ages 20-70, 42.2% Democrats, 45.7% Republicans). Participants rated the dark tetrad traits of Trump and Biden using an adapted version of the Short Dark Tetrad scale, assessing each trait separately for both candidates. This 28-item scale included questions such as “This presidential candidate believes it’s unwise to let people know his secrets” for Machiavellianism and “This presidential candidate likes to show off every now and then” for narcissism. Participants rated each item for both candidates on a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. They also reported their willingness to vote for each candidate. Sociodemographic information, such as political affiliation and education, were also collected.

Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden were perceived as exhibiting dark tetrad traits, though the degree and nature of these traits varied between candidates. Trump was rated significantly higher than Biden on narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism, whereas Machiavellianism was attributed to both candidates at similar levels. These perceptions were strongly influenced by political affiliation.

https://www.psypost.org/donald-trump-viewed-as-higher-in-dark-tetrad-traits-than-joe-biden-study-finds/

8 replies

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Donald Trump viewed as higher in Dark Tetrad traits than Joe Biden, study finds (Original Post) Wicked Blue Feb 5 OP

I want to add what I think is a key paragraph from the article: Wicked Blue Feb 5 #1

Biden's narcissism? 2naSalit Feb 5 #2

Well, duh. viva la Feb 5 #3

Yeah, how much money did they spend doing that study? tanyev Feb 5 #5

What the hell? Did someone actually think they needed to do a study on this? Wiz Imp Feb 5 #4

I'd like to give these personality researchers credit for including "sadism" to the oft-mentioned narcissism and..... EarnestPutz Feb 5 #6

Not surprising Redleg Feb 5 #7

Are Narcissists and Sociopaths Increasing? There are plenty of signs in the workplace, relationships and criminal behavi Javaman Feb 6 #8

Wicked Blue

(7,698 posts)

1. I want to add what I think is a key paragraph from the article:

Reply to Wicked Blue (Original post)

Wed Feb 5, 2025, 12:45 PM

Feb 5

Last edited Thu Feb 6, 2025, 11:19 AM - Edit history (2)

The study also revealed an asymmetry in the way these traits were evaluated: narcissism and Machiavellianism were sometimes viewed as advantageous, particularly when attributed to a preferred candidate, whereas psychopathy and sadism consistently reduced support. Biden’s narcissism was viewed positively across political affiliations, whereas Trump’s narcissism had a polarizing effect, increasing Republican support but decreasing Democratic support.

(my underlining)

What this tells me is that we need to start branding TSF and Muskolini as sadists and psychopaths.

2naSalit

(95,938 posts)

2. Biden's narcissism?

Reply to Wicked Blue (Original post)

Wed Feb 5, 2025, 12:53 PM

Feb 5

viva la

(3,988 posts)

3. Well, duh.

Reply to Wicked Blue (Original post)

Wed Feb 5, 2025, 01:10 PM

Feb 5

Biden is a decent human being.
Trump is a sociopath.
I'm not sure we need a lot of analysis to notice that.

tanyev

(45,662 posts)

5. Yeah, how much money did they spend doing that study?

Reply to viva la (Reply #3)

Wed Feb 5, 2025, 03:19 PM

Feb 5

Wiz Imp

(4,158 posts)

4. What the hell? Did someone actually think they needed to do a study on this?

Reply to Wicked Blue (Original post)

Wed Feb 5, 2025, 02:42 PM

Feb 5

Trump is one of the biggest narcissists in the history of mankind, and you don't need to do a special "study" to see that.

EarnestPutz

(2,799 posts)

6. I'd like to give these personality researchers credit for including "sadism" to the oft-mentioned narcissism and.....

Reply to Wicked Blue (Original post)

Wed Feb 5, 2025, 04:10 PM

Feb 5

.....psychopathy of Trump that we have become inured to. His penchant for hurting people is, if anything, more obvious than ever, since he is back in office and pulling out all the stops on his "Vengeance Tour 2025".

Redleg

(6,380 posts)

7. Not surprising

Reply to Wicked Blue (Original post)

Wed Feb 5, 2025, 04:40 PM

Feb 5

Last edited Mon Feb 10, 2025, 06:32 PM - Edit history (1)

Unfortunately, MAGAs see these traits as virtuous for Trump.

Javaman

(63,443 posts)

8. Are Narcissists and Sociopaths Increasing? There are plenty of signs in the workplace, relationships and criminal behavi

Reply to Wicked Blue (Original post)

Thu Feb 6, 2025, 08:41 AM

Feb 6

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/5-types-of-people-who-can-ruin-your-life/201805/are-narcissists-and-sociopaths-increasing

Personality disorders are a significant, but barely recognized, public health problem in the United States and around the world. Two personality disorders, in particular, cause a great deal of disruption in the workplace, conflict in marital relationships, and are prevalent in criminal populations. And they appear to be increasing.

In 1994, the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was published (the DSM-IV). It stated that estimates of the prevalence of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) were “less than 1% in the general population.”1 Regarding sociopaths (the DSM uses the equivalent term Antisocial Personality Disorder or ASPD), it said that overall prevalence “in community samples is about 3% in males and 1% in females.”2

Between 2001 and 2005, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded the largest study ever done regarding the prevalence of personality disorders in the United States. Structured interviews were done with approximately 35,000 people who were randomly selected to be representative of the U.S. adult population in a variety of ways including age, income, gender and region. This study found that 6.2% of the general population would meet the criteria for NPD3 and 3.7% would meet the criteria for ASPD (5.5% male and 1.9% female).4

This could be seen as a huge jump for NPD and a significant increase for ASPD in about a decade. Or, this could be explained by the fact that the 1994 estimates were based on small studies with varying methodology, compared to the sheer size and standardization of the NIH study.

more at link

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