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Political Psychology

Political Psychology The Psychological Assessment of Political Leaders: With Profiles of Saddam Hussein and Bill Clinton edited by Jerrold M. Post, 462 pp, $29.95, ISBN 0-472-09838-1, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 2003. From the large and prominent photographs of Saddam Hussein and Bill Clinton on the front dust jacket, their names in a font larger and bolder than that of the main title, a reader might expect that the book consists of single, lengthy profiles of each. But, in fact, The Psychological Assessment of Political Leaders offers much more. Editor Jerrold M. Post, MD, is professor of psychiatry, political psychology, and international affairs and director of the political psychology program at George Washington University. Previously, he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, where he founded and directed its Center for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behavior. He has an impressive reputation as an expert on the psychology of political leadership and has been able to recruit contributions from among the top psychiatrists and psychologists in the field. Contributors besides Post include Margaret Hermann, Stanley Renshon, Peter Suedfeld, Philip Tetlock, Stephen Walker, Walter Weintraub, and David Winter. These researchers represent a diversity of approaches. Some favor qualitative analyses, others more quantitative. Some focus on motivation, others on cognition. After an introductory chapter (Post, Walker, and Winter), part 1 has two chapters with overviews of "Leader Personality Assessment in Government and Academia." The first, by Winter, concentrates on academic research, whereas the second, by Post, treats how such assessments have contributed to government policy. There follows the core of the book, namely part 2, which contains seven chapters that together make up half the total pages. In these chapters, experts describe the diverse methods that they use to assess leader personalities. The methods fall into three categories. First, assessment may take the form of an integrated personality study, including the creation of a political personality profile (Post) and the psychoanalytic assessment of character and performance (Renshon). Second, assessment may involve analyses of separate traits, with three examples presented: verbal behavior (Weintraub), motives (Winter), and leader style (Hermann). Third, leader assessment may concentrate on cognition, whether operational codes (Walker, Schafer, and Young) or integrative complexity (Suedfeld, Guttieri, and Tetlock). Although all these assessment strategies have been presented in previous publications, the chapters are valuable insofar as they provide updated reviews. It is not until the last page of the final chapter of part 2, about two thirds through the book, that Clinton and Hussein enter the discussion. Part 3 is on application of the methods just surveyed to these two political enigmas. Hence, most authors contribute to at least three chapters: the general methodologic review in part 2 and two single-case analyses of Clinton and Hussein in part 3. Clinton's assessment begins with a qualitative psychoanalytic analysis (Renshon) followed by three quantitative chapters on his personality traits and motivational biases (Weintraub and Winter), leadership style (Hermann), and operational code beliefs and integrative complexity (Walker, Schafer, Young, Suedfeld, and Tetlock). Hussein is then analyzed using the same set of quantitative methods, namely personality traits and motivational biases (Weintraub and Winter), leadership style (Hermann), and operational code beliefs and integrative complexity (Walker, Schafer, Young, and Suedfeld). Hence, in terms of the quantitative chapters, the analyses of Clinton and Hussein are closely parallel, departing only slightly when it comes to the discussion of integrative complexity. However, the qualitative assessments diverge substantially. Instead of a psychoanalytic treatment, as Clinton received, Hussein is discussed in terms of Post's political psychology profile. This divergence is perhaps unfortunate because it destroys what would otherwise have been a systematic analysis of two political leaders by exactly the same set of qualitative and quantitative methods. Finally, part 4 provides a wrap-up chapter, "Assessing Political Leaders in Theory and Practice" (Post and Walker), which helps to integrate the diverse perspectives and subjects into a cohesive whole. It is hard to criticize a volume like this. To be sure, some might complain that this technique or that expert has been omitted. Others might have liked, in light of the recent events in Iraq, to have George W. Bush replace Clinton. A more serious complaint, perhaps, is that the book might be accused of falling into the same "pathography" trap that plagues many political psychobiographies. Clinton and Hussein were certainly not chosen because they exemplified ideal leaders. Not surprisingly, some of the chapters seem especially inclined to dwell on their vices rather than virtues. Perhaps it might have been a better strategy to include a leader with more admirable qualities, such as Nelson Mandela, to show whether the methods can discern the differences between good and bad leaders. Yet these criticisms do not undermine the value of The Psychological Assessment of Political Leaders. Given the unquestioned expertise of the editor and the contributors, the variety of methods represented, the emphasis on both general and specific applications, and the inherent interest of the two cases, the book is recommended reading for anyone fascinated with the title subject. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png JAMA American Medical Association

Political Psychology

Simonton, Dean Keith
JAMA , Volume 290 (10) – Sep 10, 2003
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Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN
0098-7484
eISSN
1538-3598
DOI
10.1001/jama.290.10.1386
Publisher site
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Abstract

The Psychological Assessment of Political Leaders: With Profiles of Saddam Hussein and Bill Clinton edited by Jerrold M. Post, 462 pp, $29.95, ISBN 0-472-09838-1, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 2003. From the large and prominent photographs of Saddam Hussein and Bill Clinton on the front dust jacket, their names in a font larger and bolder than that of the main title, a reader might expect that the book consists of single, lengthy profiles of each. But, in fact, The Psychological Assessment of Political Leaders offers much more. Editor Jerrold M. Post, MD, is professor of psychiatry, political psychology, and international affairs and director of the political psychology program at George Washington University. Previously, he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, where he founded and directed its Center for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behavior. He has an impressive reputation as an expert on the psychology of political leadership and has been able to recruit contributions from among the top psychiatrists and psychologists in the field. Contributors besides Post include Margaret Hermann, Stanley Renshon, Peter Suedfeld, Philip Tetlock, Stephen Walker, Walter Weintraub, and David Winter. These researchers represent a diversity of approaches. Some favor qualitative analyses, others more quantitative. Some focus on motivation, others on cognition. After an introductory chapter (Post, Walker, and Winter), part 1 has two chapters with overviews of "Leader Personality Assessment in Government and Academia." The first, by Winter, concentrates on academic research, whereas the second, by Post, treats how such assessments have contributed to government policy. There follows the core of the book, namely part 2, which contains seven chapters that together make up half the total pages. In these chapters, experts describe the diverse methods that they use to assess leader personalities. The methods fall into three categories. First, assessment may take the form of an integrated personality study, including the creation of a political personality profile (Post) and the psychoanalytic assessment of character and performance (Renshon). Second, assessment may involve analyses of separate traits, with three examples presented: verbal behavior (Weintraub), motives (Winter), and leader style (Hermann). Third, leader assessment may concentrate on cognition, whether operational codes (Walker, Schafer, and Young) or integrative complexity (Suedfeld, Guttieri, and Tetlock). Although all these assessment strategies have been presented in previous publications, the chapters are valuable insofar as they provide updated reviews. It is not until the last page of the final chapter of part 2, about two thirds through the book, that Clinton and Hussein enter the discussion. Part 3 is on application of the methods just surveyed to these two political enigmas. Hence, most authors contribute to at least three chapters: the general methodologic review in part 2 and two single-case analyses of Clinton and Hussein in part 3. Clinton's assessment begins with a qualitative psychoanalytic analysis (Renshon) followed by three quantitative chapters on his personality traits and motivational biases (Weintraub and Winter), leadership style (Hermann), and operational code beliefs and integrative complexity (Walker, Schafer, Young, Suedfeld, and Tetlock). Hussein is then analyzed using the same set of quantitative methods, namely personality traits and motivational biases (Weintraub and Winter), leadership style (Hermann), and operational code beliefs and integrative complexity (Walker, Schafer, Young, and Suedfeld). Hence, in terms of the quantitative chapters, the analyses of Clinton and Hussein are closely parallel, departing only slightly when it comes to the discussion of integrative complexity. However, the qualitative assessments diverge substantially. Instead of a psychoanalytic treatment, as Clinton received, Hussein is discussed in terms of Post's political psychology profile. This divergence is perhaps unfortunate because it destroys what would otherwise have been a systematic analysis of two political leaders by exactly the same set of qualitative and quantitative methods. Finally, part 4 provides a wrap-up chapter, "Assessing Political Leaders in Theory and Practice" (Post and Walker), which helps to integrate the diverse perspectives and subjects into a cohesive whole. It is hard to criticize a volume like this. To be sure, some might complain that this technique or that expert has been omitted. Others might have liked, in light of the recent events in Iraq, to have George W. Bush replace Clinton. A more serious complaint, perhaps, is that the book might be accused of falling into the same "pathography" trap that plagues many political psychobiographies. Clinton and Hussein were certainly not chosen because they exemplified ideal leaders. Not surprisingly, some of the chapters seem especially inclined to dwell on their vices rather than virtues. Perhaps it might have been a better strategy to include a leader with more admirable qualities, such as Nelson Mandela, to show whether the methods can discern the differences between good and bad leaders. Yet these criticisms do not undermine the value of The Psychological Assessment of Political Leaders. Given the unquestioned expertise of the editor and the contributors, the variety of methods represented, the emphasis on both general and specific applications, and the inherent interest of the two cases, the book is recommended reading for anyone fascinated with the title subject.

Journal

JAMA – American Medical Association

Published: Sep 10, 2003

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