Donald Trump has more psychopathic traits than Adolf Hitler, while Hillary Clinton shows 'machiavellian egocentricity': Scientists conclude BOTH presidential candidates may be psychopaths – but claim that could be a good thing 

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The lively and sometimes entertaining Presidential race has left Americans and even the entire world questioning both candidates’ mental state.

Between Donald Trump’s unorthodox behavior and Hillary Clinton’s blatant disregard for State Department laws, experts wonder if these White House competitors exhibit similar traits of other historical leaders.

A new study into psychopathic traits reveals that Trump ranks above Adolf Hitler and below Saddam Hussein, whereas Clinton is lodged between Napoleon and Emperor Nero - but some of these traits can make them a more successful leader.

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A new study into psychopathic traits reveals that Trump ranks above Adolf Hitler and below Saddam Hussein, whereas Clinton is lodged between Napoleon and Nero - but some of these traits can make them a more successful leader

Oxford University’s Dr, Kevin Dutton has been exploring the psychopathic traits of the candidates and other historical figures using a standard psychometric tool, the Psychopathic Personality Inventory – Revised (PPI-R), reports Scientific American Mind.

While learning about these traits, Dutton also looked at which ones can be beneficial and which will lead to destruction.

He explains that being a psychopath is not an all-or-nothing affair, but is on a spectrum along which each of us has our place.

There also seems to be a range of positions that attract individuals on the high end of the psychopathic scale such as business, surgery, the law military and of course, politics.

Previous to this recent study, Dutton contacted the official biographers of many historical leads and asked them to fill out an abbreviated version of the PPI-R in order to create a table showing which traits these figures had.

The table shows each subject’s scores for psychopathy’s eight component traits.

The first three being, social influence(SI), fearlessness (F) and stress immunity(STI), which are collectively known as Fearless Dominance traits – these leaders tend to be more successful. 

However, the next four traits that are known as Self-Centered Impulsivity can be destructive.

This group includes Machiavellian Egocentricity (ME), Rebellious Nonconformity (RN), Blame Externalization (BE) and Carefree Nonplanfulness (CN).

And the final trait is Coldheartedness (C), which is helpful for making tough decisions such as sending troops off to war. 

The ‘league table’ implies that a majority of these well-known individuals are high scorers, such as Winston Churchill.

Previous to this recent study, Dutton contacted the official biographers of many historical leads and asked them to fill out an abbreviated version of the PPI-R in order to create a table showing which traits these figures had. The table (pictured) shows each subject’s scores for psychopathy’s eight component traits

Clinton falls into the category Self-Centered Impulsivity and scored the highest for Machiavellian Egocentricity, which means she has a lack of empathy and sense of detachment from others for the sake of achieving her own goals

These scores were especially high on the positive aspects like social influence, fearlessness and coolness under pressure.

Although the test analyzed these leaders for positive traits that help them shine in their position, there are also negative ones, like self-centeredness, impulsivity and a lack of empathy, which can lead to their demise.

‘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,’ said Dutton.

‘Some of those traits, such as fearlessness or stress immunity, can be positive.’

‘Others, such as blame externalization 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.’

Dutton also gives an examples that someone who scores high for being influential, fearless and cold-hearted could be a decisive leader who can make dispassionate decisions.

Trump was found to be on par with Hitler (pictured), the German leader of the Nazi Party who was blamed for the genocide of millions of Jews, and Idi Amin, president of Uganda who racially persecuted and executed his people without hesitation

And if these traits are followed by a high score on blaming others, they might be a genocidal demagogue, he added.

Although Trump and Clinton both scored high on the test, Trump is deemed to be the higher scorer.

The Republican nominee was found to be on par with Hitler, the German leader of the Nazi Party who was blamed for the genocide of millions of Jews, and Idi Amin, president of Uganda who racially persecuted and executed his people without hesitation.

Trump outscored Clinton altogether, but the most was in Fearless Dominance, which is associated with successful presidencies.

However, The Donald also ranked high in ‘self-centered impulsivity’, the set of traits considered negative.

Clinton falls into the category Self-Centered Impulsivity and scored the highest for Machiavellian Egocentricity, which means she has a lack of empathy and sense of detachment from others for the sake of achieving her own goals.

Clinton sits between Napoleon Bonaparte (pictured), who is known for his ruthlessness and policies which were directly responsible for millions of deaths, and Emperor Nero, who murdered his mother and wife and confiscated senators' property and severely taxed the people to build his own golden home

The Democratic nominee sits between Napoleon Bonaparte, who is known for his ruthlessness and policies which were directly responsible for millions of deaths, and Emperor Nero, who murdered his mother and wife and confiscated senators' property and severely taxed the people to build his own golden home.

‘It is interesting that these scores reflect both the praise and the criticism that Trump and Clinton receive,’ Dutton said.

‘In the end, while both score relatively highly, it will be up to voters to decide if whether their mix of positive and negative traits should send them to the Oval Office or the psychiatrist’s office.’