Donald Trump

A new study suggests the strongest driver of conspiracy beliefs about the Trump assassination attempt wasn’t social media or cable news. Instead, researchers found an unexpected social factor that could explain why some people fall for these narratives.

Support for Donald Trump is linked to darker personality traits, including increased psychopathy and decreased empathy, new research finds. The study also connects conservative political beliefs to lower benevolence, suggesting personality may shape how people engage with politics and ideology.

In a rare example of psychological research predicting an election before it happened, a team of researchers used campaign language to anticipate Donald Trump’s 2024 victory—and got it right.

Can an AI understand a political metaphor? Researchers pitted ChatGPT against the speeches of Donald Trump to find out. The model showed moderate success in detection but ultimately struggled with context, highlighting the current limits of automated language analysis.

Among young adults, stress from election news was linked to higher risks of depression and anxiety, while pre-election anticipatory stress was linked to depression only. Stress about the election outcome was not associated with either condition.

How can one of the world's most powerful men also be its biggest victim? A new paper argues it’s a political strategy based on hypothetical, not actual, harm—a concept the author calls “victimcould” used to justify present-day aggression.

Despite widespread condemnation of the January 6th attack, many white Republicans remained loyal to Trump—especially those who perceived anti-white discrimination. A new study shows how racial status threat can protect political leaders from the consequences of norm violations.

Researchers found that voters’ authoritarian tendencies influenced how they judged the psychopathic traits of 2016 presidential candidates. Those high in authoritarianism were more likely to view Trump favorably and Clinton as psychologically disordered—and vice versa.

Narcissism in political leaders may have roots in childhood. A recent study explores how Hitler, Putin, and Trump experienced similar emotional trauma and parenting styles that contributed to unhealthy narcissistic development and shaped their political personas.

The belief that only conservatives prefer authoritarian leaders is upended by new research showing ethnic minorities—regardless of political affiliation—are more supportive of strong leadership than White liberals. The study suggests generalized trust is a key psychological factor.

The attempted assassination of Trump didn’t ignite partisan fury—instead, Republicans became less supportive of political violence and more united, while Democrats’ attitudes remained unchanged.

Ever noticed Donald Trump's frequent pointing? A new linguistic study reveals it's not just random.

A study on the 2020 U.S. election examined how perceived dark tetrad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, sadism) in Trump and Biden influenced voter behavior. Perceptions varied by political affiliation and impacted candidate support, with psychopathy and sadism decreasing it.

Trump supporters with strong personal loyalty (identity fusion) were more likely to believe his election fraud claims, which further deepened their loyalty and led to greater support for his policies and dismissal of his legal troubles.

Donald Trump's unexpected rise to the presidency in 2016 defied conventional political norms, driven by his populist appeal and unique communication style, which has since become a focal point for research into the psychological and social factors behind his supporters'...