Associate Professor in Coaching and Behavioural Change, Dr Holly Andrews takes a look at the psychology behind President Donald Trump's influence.

As the US election comes to a close, I’ve been asked many times what I think of Donald Trump’s behaviour. While it isn’t possible, or desirable, to analyse whether someone is a psychopath from how they are presented in the media, we do seem to witness some traits in President Trump that align with traits in the major diagnostic systems for psychopathy.

The first category of psychopathic traits are interpersonal traits, defining how someone presents themselves to others. Trump appears to display some of these characteristics, such as superficial charm. Love him or hate him there is no denying that he has a charisma about him. Manipulativeness is another trait that falls within this category. Calls from President Trump to Georgia’s secretary of state following his 2020 election defeat appear to show his attempts to manipulate Mr Raffensperger into changing the results of the election.

The second category of traits are affective traits, focusing on what someone does or doesn’t feel. The hallmark of psychopathy, a lack of empathy, falls within this category. Some of Donald Trump’s actions appear to show this trait, for example, his comments about migrants in America often dehumanise this group, showing no empathy for their situation. Failure to accept responsibility for actions is also a trait within this group. To the best of my knowledge, Trump has never admitted any responsibility for inciting the violence that took place at Capitol Hill in Washington on January 6 2021, despite being impeached for incitement of insurrection (although he was later acquitted).

The third category of traits relate to the kind of lifestyle a person lives. Again, Trump displays some of these traits. For example, impulsivity and irresponsibility both sit within this category and Trumps actions which led to the Capitol Hill incident could be classed as demonstrating both traits.

The final category of traits relates to antisocial behaviour. Clearly, Trump has had numerous interactions with the US legal system and is the first former US President to ever be criminally convicted. Promiscuity also sits within this category, something the tabloids would have us believe that Trump is guilty of!

From the media presentation of Trump, he does appear to hold some psychopathic traits in all four domains of the disorder. So why do so many people love him, and why is this election battle so close? Despite their many unpleasant traits, psychopaths often appear on the surface to hold many desirable traits, such as self-confidence, the ability to build rapport, and decisiveness. In turbulent times, their unflappable confidence is particularly appealing as people search for something to believe in. Only time will tell if Trump’s confidence and certainty will outweigh some of his more controversial behaviour.