Trump’s Personality Pattern and Its Implications for Leadership

A paper published one month before the 2016 presidential election described the “political personality” of Donald Trump. Aubrey Immelman had previously developed similar papers on Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, George W. Bush and many other national and foreign leaders. I thought it would be interesting to see how well the paper on Trump fared three-plus years into his presidency.

Immelman prepared the paper using publicly available materials to develop a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria. Theodore Millon (1928-2014) was a renowned American psychologist who studied personality.

Briefly, Millon identifies 10 scales. A personality pattern consists of multiple scales. The scales each have three gradations. The lowest scoring gradation is considered normal, well-adjusted, and adaptive. The middle gradation is considered exaggerated, while the third is considered extreme.

Trump scored in the third (the highest) gradation for the Ambitious, Outgoing, and Dominant scales. His scores in the Ambitious and Outgoing scales earned a mildly disturbed label. According to Immelmen, this means that Trump scored at the lowest/borderline end of the scales that one might consider as narcissistic and impulsive/histrionic in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, better known by the acronym DSM, of the American Psychiatric Association.

Each scale has eight “attribute domains.” I will go into these in more detail later in this post.

• Expressive behavior – the individual’s characteristic behavior; how the individual typically appears to others.
• Interpersonal conduct – how the individual typically interacts with others.
• Cognitive style – how the individual focuses and allocates attention, encodes and processes information, and organizes thoughts.
• Mood/temperament – how the individual typically displays emotion.
• Self-image – the individual’s perception of self-as-object.
• Regulatory mechanisms – the individual’s characteristic mechanisms of self-protection, need gratification, and conflict resolution.
• Objective representations – the inner imprint left by the individual’s significant early experiences with others and other events and circumstances that affect the individual’s dispositions for perceiving and reacting to life’s events.
• Morphologic organization – the overall architecture that serves as a framework for the individual’s psychic interior, ego strength.

The Ambitious-Outgoing Composite Pattern

I will start first with Immelman’s distillation of this composite pattern. I will quote Immelman extensively because I do not want to unintentionally misrepresent what he says.

Trump scored equally very high (marginally maladaptive) on two personality scales: Ambitious and Outgoing. Immelman calls this the “Ambitious-Outgoing Composite Pattern.” The following quotes his overall finding on this pattern.

“Persons who score high on both the Ambitious and Outgoing scales are clever and charming; they are skilled at attracting and seducing others. Though highly ambitious, Ambitious-Outgoing individuals also tend to be undisciplined, traveling an erratic course of successes, failures, and abandoned hopes. Needing excitement, stimulation, and challenge, they are easily bored by routine activities; at extreme levels, they may act impulsively. They display a tendency to be overly but transiently attached to one thing or person after another, exhibiting a restless, ‘driven’ quality which may be accompanied by a deficit in social dependability. Because agreements are often hastily assumed, they may have trouble honoring their promises or meeting their obligations. Ultimately, they are more attuned to their own needs than to those of others.”

“The distinctive feature of this narcissistic subtype [Immelman labels this composite personality pattern as impulsive narcissism, a sub-type of the narcissistic personality] is an erotic and seductive orientation. For these personalities, the need to repeatedly demonstrate their sexual prowess is a preeminent obsession, serving to enhance their self-worth. These individuals have an indifferent conscience and aloofness to the truth, which, if brought to their attention, is likely to elicit nonchalant innocence.

“Though totally self-oriented, these individuals are facile in the ways of social seduction, often feign an air of dignity and confidence, and are rather skilled in deceiving others with their clever glibness. They will fabricate stories to enhance their worth and leave behind a trail of broken promises and outrageous acts, including swindling, sexual excesses, pathological lying, and fraud. Fabrication serves both to nourish their inflated self-image and to seduce others into supporting their excesses; however, the amorous narcissist’s disregard for the truth and talents for exploitation and deception are rarely hostile or malicious in intent. Typically, it is simply a product of their narcissistic attitude of omnipotence and their profound sense of entitlement; fundamentally, they are not malevolent.

“Caring little to shoulder genuine social responsibility, unwilling to change their seductive ways, never having learned to control their fantasies, and unconcerned with their seductive ways, never having learned to control their fantasies, and unconcerned with matters of social integrity, amorous narcissists [Millon’s term for this composite personality pattern] tend to maintain their beguiling ways – if need be by deception, fraud, lying, and by charming others through craft and wit. Rather than apply their talents toward the goal of tangible achievements and genuine relationships, they will devote their energies to constructing intricate lies, cleverly exploiting others, and slyly extracting from them what they believe is simply their due. Criticism, confrontation, and punishment are unlikely to make them change their ways and likely to be dismissed as jealous carping. What most motivates, drives, and compels this personality composite is the act of exhibitionistic seduction and, hence, gaining in narcissistic stature.”

Summary of Trump’s personality profile

This section goes into detail in examining Trump’s two highest personality patterns. I find the details fascinating. One can get a sense of how these details add up to the composite picture above. Trump’s very high scores in the Ambitious scale and the Outgoing scale key his personality profile. A high score on the Dominant scale influences his personality profile as does a lower score on the Dauntless scale.

To quote Immelmen, “Trump’s major personality strengths in a political role are his confident assertiveness and personal charisma. His major personality-based shortcomings are of a temperamental nature – impulsiveness and a lack of emotional restraint and self-discipline, along with the propensity for a superficial grasp of complex issues and a predisposition to be easily bored by routine.” He says that “in political terms, a nonpathological label for Trump would be high-dominance charismatic – charismatic by virtue of the highly elevated primary Ambitious-Outgoing amalgam.”

The Ambitious Pattern

In this pattern and in the Outgoing pattern, Trump scores in the extreme grade, so I pay attention to the exaggerated and extreme variants of the attribute domains.

“At the well-adjusted pole are confident, socially poised, assertive personalities. Slightly exaggerated Ambitious features occur in personalities that are sometimes perceived as self-promoting, overconfident, or arrogant. In its most deeply ingrained, inflexible form the Ambitious pattern manifests itself in extreme self-absorption or exploitative behavior patterns that may be consistent with a clinical diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder.”

Millon commented that people with the Ambitious pattern profile “‘often are audacious, clever, and persuasive, having sufficient charm to win others over to their own causes and purposes. Problematic in this regard may be their lack of social reciprocity and their sense of entitlement – their assumption that what they wish for is their due. On the other hand, their ambitions often succeed, and they typically prove to be effective leaders.'”

Domain Attributes

Expressive behavior – The core diagnostic feature of the Ambitious people is their confidence, socially poised and self-assured. “More exaggerated variants of the Ambitious pattern [the second gradient] tend to act in a conceited manner, their natural self-assurance shading into supreme self-confidence, hubris, immodesty, or presumptuousness. They are self-promoting and may display an inflated sense of self-importance. They typically have a superior, supercilious, imperious, haughty, and disdainful manner. Characteristically, though usually unwittingly, they exploit others, take them for granted, and frequently act as though entitled. The most extreme variants of this pattern are arrogant; they are self-serving, reveal a self-important indifference to the rights of others, and are manipulative and lacking in integrity. They commonly flout conventional rules of shared living, which they view as naïve or inapplicable to themselves. All variants of this pattern are to some degree self-centered and lacking in generosity and social reciprocity.”

Interpersonal conduct – The core feature here is assertiveness: Ambitious individuals stand their ground and are tough, hard-nosed, persuasive, and shrewd. In the exaggerated variant of this pattern, Ambitious people are entitled. They also lack genuine empathy and expect favors without assuming reciprocal responsibilities. “The most extreme variants of this pattern are exploitative; they shamelessly take others for granted and manipulate and use them to indulge their desires, enhance themselves, or advance their personal agenda, yet contributing little or nothing in return. Ironically, the nerve and boldness of all variants of this pattern, rather than being clearly seen for what it is – impertinence, imprudence, or sheer audacity – often conveys confidence and authority and evokes admiration and compliance from others. Indeed, these personalities are skilled at sizing up those around them and conditioning those so disposed to adulate, glorify, and serve them.”

Cognitive style – the core feature of the Ambitious person’s cognitive style is their imaginativeness. They are inventive and resourceful and believe in their own efficacy. In the exaggerated version of this pattern, Ambitious people are cognitively expansive. They show a very high degree of confidence in their own ideas and success potential. They redeem themselves by taking liberty with facts or distorting the truth. “The most extreme variants of this pattern are cognitively unconstructed; they are preoccupied with self-glorifying fantasies of accomplishment or fame, are little constrained by objective reality or cautionary feedback and deprecate competitors or detractors in their quest for glory. All variants of this pattern to some degree harbor fantasies of success or rationalize their failures; thus, they tend to exaggerate their achievements, transform failures into successes, construct lengthy and intricate justifications that inflate their self-worth, and quickly deprecate those who refuse to bend to or enhance their admirable sense of self.”

Mood/temperament – the core feature for mood/temperament in this pattern’s social poise. They are serene, optimistic, imperturbable and levelheaded under pressure. The exaggerated version of this pattern is marked by insouciance – a general air of nonchalance or feigned tranquility. Here, the Ambitious person is cool and unimpressionable except when his or her narcissistic confidence is shaken, which can trigger rage or shame or emptiness. “The most extreme variants of this pattern are exuberant; they experience a pervasive sense of emotional well-being in their everyday life – a buoyancy of spirit and optimism of outlook – except when their sense of superiority is punctured. When emotionally deflated, their air of nonchalance and imperturbability quickly turns to edgy irritability and annoyance. Under more trying circumstances, sham serenity may turn to feelings of emptiness and humiliation, sometimes with vacillating episodes of rage, shame, and dejection. All variants of this pattern to some degree convey a self-satisfied smugness, yet are easily angered when criticized, obstructed, or crossed.”

Self-image – Certitude is the core feature of Ambitious people. They possess strong self-sufficiency beliefs and considerable courage of conviction. Exaggerated variants of this pattern possess an admirable sense of self. They see themselves as extraordinarily meritorious and esteemed by others, although others may see them as egotistic, inconsiderate, and arrogant. “The most extreme variants of this pattern have a superior sense of self. They view themselves as having unique and special qualities, deserving of great admiration and entitled to unusual rights and privileges. Accordingly, they often act in a pompous or grandiose manner, often in the absence of commensurate achievements. In high-level leadership positions, some of these individuals may exhibit a messianic self-perception, those failing to pay proper respect or bend to their will are treated with scorn and contempt.”

Regulatory mechanisms – Ambitious individuals’ main ego defenses are rationalization and fantasy. When their self-image of confidence is shaken they use facile self-deceptions, devise plausible reasons to justify their inconsiderate behaviors. Such individuals rationalize their difficulties, using alibis to place themselves in a positive light despite obvious shortcomings and failures. When this fails, they use fantasy to overcome their feelings of rejection or shame and reassert their pride and status.

Object representations – a core feature of Ambitious people is their contrived nature. Problematic experiences are altered to appear consistent with their high sense of self-worth.

Morphologic organization – the core feature here is their spuriousness. The interior design is really counterfeit. Usually, because of how good things came to them in their early experiences, they do not have the experience that gives them the skills necessary to regulate their impulses, channel their needs, and resolve conflicts. They often view common demands as annoyances and routine responsibilities as demeaning. They easily produce excuses and justifications to continue selfish and exploitative social conduct.

The Outgoing Pattern

At the normal or well-adjusted pole, Outgoing people are warm and congenial. Exaggerated features occur in sociable, gregarious personalities. In its most extreme form, “extraversion becomes impulsive, self-centered, overdramatizing behavior patterns that may be consistent with a clinical diagnosis of histrionic personality disorder.”

Immelman makes the point that high scores on the Outgoing scale along with prominent scores on the Dauntless and Ambitious scales and a low score on the Conscientious scale [as does Trump] “may be susceptible to errors of judgment related to ‘neglect of the role demands of political office, low resistance to corrupting influences, and impulsiveness . . . [as well as] favoring loyalty and friendship over competence-for-the-position in making appointments to high-level public office.'”

He adds, “In politics, leadership ability may well be compromised in individuals who ‘become easily bored, especially when faced with repetitive and mundane tasks,’ and who are prone to ‘intense and shifting moods.’ Those limitations must, however, be weighed against their capacity for ‘energizing and motivating’ the public.”

Attribute Domains

Expressive behavior – the core feature of the expressive personality is sociability. More exaggerated personalities are predisposed to impulsiveness, intolerant of inactivity, and seek excitement to prevent boredom. They often go for momentary excitement and short-sighted hedonism. “The most extreme variants of this pattern are dramatic; they are self-dramatizing, overreactive, and volatile, typically with highly emotional and theatrical responsiveness. As leaders, Outgoing personalities may be somewhat lacking in gravitas, inclined to make spur-of-the-moment decisions without carefully considering alternatives, predisposed to recklessness, imprudent behaviors, and prone to scandal.”

Interpersonal conduct – the core feature of this personality pattern is demonstrativeness; they display their feelings openly. More exaggerated variants are attention-seeking. They actively solicit praise, approval, and attention. “The most extreme variants of this pattern are interpersonally seductive; they are flamboyant, exhibitionistic, or provocative and manipulate others to solicit praise or attract attention to themselves. In a political leadership role, Outgoing personalities display a substantial need for validation, one manifestation of which may be an overreliance on polls as an instrument of policy, direction, and formulation.”

Cognitive style – Unreflectiveness is the core feature of this personality pattern. Outgoing people shy away from introspective thought. They concentrate on practical, concrete matters. Exaggerated variants of this pattern tend to be superficial, which is sometimes associated with flightiness in reasoning or thinking. They do not engage in deep thinking; they tend to speak and write in impressionistic generalities. Although they are talkative, they avoid complex issues and their words lack detail and substance. “The most extreme variants of this pattern have a scattered cognitive style; they are poor integrators of experience, which results in scattered learning, difficulty in learning from mistakes, and poor judgment. In politics, more extreme variants of the Outgoing pattern may be associated with lapses of judgment and flawed decision making.”

Mood/temperament – here, the core feature is emotional expressiveness. Outgoing people are animated, uninhibited, and affectively responsive. At a more exaggerated level, Outgoing people are quite changeable, often showing short-lived and superficial moods. At the most extreme level, Outgoing people “are impetuous; they are over-excitable, capricious, and exhibit a pervasive tendency to be easily enthused and as easily angered or bored. Leaders with an Outgoing personality pattern are skilled at staying in touch with public sentiments, but may be mercurial, volatile, or heedless, prone to periodic emotional outbursts, and easily angered or bored.”

Self-image – at their core, this personality pattern views themselves as being socially desirable, well-liked, and charming. At a more exaggerated level, Outgoing people perceive themselves as stimulating, popular, and gregarious. “The most extreme variants of this pattern are hedonistic; they are self-indulgent, enjoying the image of attracting acquaintances by pursuing a busy and pleasure-oriented life. Given their appealing self-image, these personalities are confident in their social abilities. In politics, Outgoing personalities, more than any other character type, are political animals strongly attracted to the lure of campaigning. They thrive on the self-validation offered by the adulating crowds and the frenetic, connect-with-people activity of whistle-stop tours, political rallies, and town meetings.”

Regulatory mechanisms – the core feature of their ego-defense is self-distraction. Their preferred stress management move is to engage in relatively mindless activities, various forms of amusement or recreation. “The most extreme variants of the Outgoing pattern may employ the defense mechanism of disassociation (sometimes referred to as ‘compartmentalization’ by political commentators, but technically a misnomer) to cope with conflict and anxiety. Whereas healthy self-distraction is generally adaptive in coping with the stress of high-level public office, some of its political implications may be troubling – including a leader’s failure to face up to unpleasant or dissonant thoughts, feelings, and actions, which may be compounded by cosmetic image-making as revealed in a succession of socially attractive but changing facades.”

Object representations – the core of the internalized object representation is the shallow nature of Outgoing individuals. They characteristically seek stimulation, attention, and excitement. “The most extreme variants of the Outgoing pattern may lack a core identity apart from others, and therefore must draw sustenance and validation from those around them. In politics, Outgoing leaders thrive off the thrill of political campaigns and the international spotlight, and in office may not be averse to instigating brinksmanship to force a desired outcome and secure a legacy – especially if narcissistic tendencies feature prominently in their personal profile.”

Morphological organization – here the core feature of the Outgoing pattern is exteroceptiveness. Outgoing persons focus on external matters and the present, being neither introspective nor concerned with the past. “The most exaggerated variants of the Outgoing pattern tend to have a disjointed, loosely knit and haphazard morphological structure that contributes to a disconnection of thoughts, feelings, and actions; their internal controls are relatively scattered and unintegrated, with ad hoc methods for restraining impulses, coordinating defenses, and resolving conflicts. The personal political style of Outgoing leaders, hypothetically, may have a similar quality, with ad hoc strategies sometimes displacing the disciplined pursuit of carefully formulated policy objectives.”

Two other important scales for Trump

Dominant Personality

Trump scored third highest in the Dominant pattern, indicating a controlling personality pattern. This gradation represents a person who is forceful, intimidating, and controlling. These personalities “enjoy the power to direct and intimidate others, and to evoke obedience and respect from them. They tend to be tough and unsentimental, as well as gain satisfaction in actions that dictate and manipulate the lives of others.”

Their expressive behavior is forceful. “They are controlling, contentious, and at time overbearing, their power-oriented behaviors being evident in occasional intransigence, stubbornness, and coercive behaviors. . . . these individuals can be quite blunt, brusque, and impatient, with sudden, abrupt outbursts of an unwarranted or precipitous nature.”

Relative to interpersonal conduct, they tend to be abrasive, contentious, coercive, and combative, often dictate to others, and are willing to and able to humiliate others to evoke compliance. This serves an instrumental purpose because most people are intimidated by hostility, sarcasm, criticism, and threats. They can have their own way by browbeating others into respect and submission.
In their cognitive style, these personalities tend to be dogmatic. “They are inflexible and close-minded, lacking objectivity and clinging obstinately to preconceived ideas, beliefs, and values.”

In mood/temperament people in this gradation “tend to be cold and unfriendly, but they are disinclined to experience and express tender feelings and have a volatile temper that readily flares into contentious argument and physical belligerence.”

The self-image of this personality pattern “recognizes their fundamentally competitive nature; they are strong-willed, energetic, and commanding, and may take pride in describing themselves as tough and realistically hard-headed.”
The regulatory mechanism is isolation – they can detach themselves emotionally from the negative effect they have on others. They see their blunt directness as frankness and honesty, a willingness to directly take on issues. They tend to anticipate disapproval from others by projecting their hostility on them, seeing their aggressive actions as simply countering unjust persecution.

Regarding object representation, this personality is pernicious and is characterized by a lack of tender and sentimental objects and under-developed feelings of shame or guilt. They reflect on the expectancy of hostility and the need to preempt it – “the only perceived recourse is to act in a bold, critical, assertive, and ruthless manner.”

Relative to morphological organization, highly Dominant personalities have energies so powerful that they “periodically overwhelm these personalities’ otherwise adequate modulating controls . . . resulting in the harsh behavior commonly seen in these personalities.” Additionally, “these personalities dread the thought of being vulnerable, of being deceived, and of being humiliated.”

The Dauntless Pattern

Trump scored in the highest gradation for Ambitious and Outgoing scales (mildly disturbed) and in the Dominant scale, but much lower than in the Ambitious and Outgoing scales (prominent but not mildly disturbed). His score on the Dauntless scale was much lower but still important to the overall makeup of his personality pattern. I will be very brief here. People who are Dauntless are individualistic, daring, and adventurous, and are sometimes unconscientious, risk-taking, and dissenting personalities. They tend to flout tradition and act autonomously. They tend to not be socially minded and are not inclined to follow conventional standards, cultural mores, and organizational regulations.

Implications for the presidency

Immelman ends his paper with observations on the impact of Trump’s personality patterns in his role as a chief executive/president. “Trump’s greatest strength, by dint of his outgoing personality in concert with extreme self-confidence, is mobilization, which will be instrumental in rallying, energizing, and motivating his supporters. In the sphere of orchestration, Trump’s dearth of personality traits related to conscientiousness (e.g., diminished capacity for sustained focus and insufficient attention to detail), along with his extravert’s impulsiveness and susceptibility to boredom, may serve as an impediment to presidential performance. Trump is no ‘policy wonk’ – an attribute firmly embedded in his personality.

Finally, his ambition and dominant personality attributes, including the drive to excel, goal-directedness, and proficiency in taking charge and seeing that the job gets done, will serve Trump well in the arena of consolidation, potentially augmenting his outgoing, ‘retail’ politicians skill in consummating his policy objectives.” His personality patterns imply a charismatic leadership style that rarely permits himself to being outflanked.

“Trump’s major personality-based limitations include the propensity for a superficial grasp of complex issues, a predisposition to be easily bored by routine (with the attendant risk of failing to keep himself adequately informed), an inclination to act impulsively without fully appreciating the implications of his decisions or the long-term consequences of his policy initiatives, and a predilection to favor personal connections, friendship, and loyalty over competence in his staffing decisions and appointments – all of which could render a Trump administration relatively vulnerable to errors of judgment.”

Comment

Readers may interpret or assess Immelman’s analysis in different ways. For me, as a layman, I was impressed with the overall accuracy and especially the detailed accuracy of much of Immleman’s analysis. It helped me understand Trump’s behavior, particularly with the intensity with which he practices “the best defense is a very aggressive offense” and his clear preference for loyalty over competence. What I found most fascinating was Immelman’s analysis of Trump’s cognitive style. My sense is that if Immelman could have used material subsequent to Trump’s election, he would have more forcefully stressed the extreme aspects of Trump’s behavior.

As President, I view Trump as woefully out of his league. His boredom with routine and details and his inability to focus gives him an inability to deal with complex problems. When I worked in Washington, DC, especially with Congress, one of the most common sayings around was “The devil is in the details.” Someone with these characteristics certainly needs to surround himself with competent people and engage and listen to them. But even if he did surround himself with such staff, he would not be able to engage and listen to them.
On the positive side, Immelman’s analysis shows the strength of Trump’s ability to generate charisma among a large segment of the population and the energy he draws from the adulation he requires. For better or worse, he can mobilize large numbers of people and generate a cult-like following.

After reading Immelman’s paper, I asked myself: if I knew this about his personality, what would be the rationale for voting for him? The answer that came to me was this: I would vote for him I wanted to see the chaotic destabilization of government. When I answered the question this way, I immediately thought of Steve Bannon’s emphasis that the major thrust of the Trump administration would be the deconstruction of the state. Apparently, Bannon knew Trump well.

Finally, I want to add a bit of context to Immeleman’s paper. Immelman suggests that certain personality patterns than others are better suited to elected leaders (See paper by DeVries and Landtsheer). The following diagram suggests this outcome.

Outgoing ——————————- Retiring
Dominant ——————————— Aggrieved
Ambitious —————————— Reticent
Accommodating ———————— Contentious
Dauntless ——————————— Conscientious

Most elected leaders are usually strong in the personality scales on the left. Very rarely, if at all, does one see elected leaders whose strengths are only or primarily on the right. One can argue that elected leaders must connect with an audience, be seen by voters as strong or effective leaders, possess self-confidence, be friendly and diplomatic, and have an ability to take at least modest risks. All these characteristics relate to scales on the left in the above graphic.

Trump’s problems result from being extreme or exaggerated in many of the facets of the personality patterns on the left while having little if any contribution of the strengths on the right. Immelman notes that he could not pick up any characteristics of Trump on the accommodation, conscientiousness, retiring, or reticent scales. In other words, Trump has little balance in his personality patterns. He often scores extreme or exaggerated in his personality strengths to the point where they are maladaptive.