A ‘Big 5’ Personality Estimation of Adolf Hitler

There’s no denying that Adolf Hitler was a very traumatised, sick individual. He experienced abuse in early childhood, and some suggest that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Aside from this, it’s fair to assume that Hitler was probably extremely intelligent, given the speed at which he was able to gain power and influence over the masses in Germany during his era of reign.

Here, I will use the Big 5 Personality model, give my educated estimates for all his traits, and explain why I suggest these scores.

Openness to experience — open-minded, creative and sensitive to aesthetics –

Given Hitler’s high levels of intelligence, one might assume that he would score high in Openness, particularly in the openness sub-domain — intellect. The correlation between Openness and intelligence is about 0.4, which is the most substantial correlational relationship between intelligence and any other personality domain. Hitler also loved art, and a love for art is a prime trait of people high in Openness. According to all of this, Hitler scored really high in Openness; however, I see many contradictions. Firstly, with his narrow views and his unwillingness to accept the people who didn’t align with his points of view, Hitler would rank low in this domain of personality. People high in Openness tend to be liberal, and liberals are more sensitive to inequality than their right-leaning counterparts. Correlational studies on personality and political orientation suggest that Openness is associated with left-leaning orientation. Hitler’s ideology aligned with radical right-wing extremism. Most scholars agree that Nazism was a product of far-right ideology. I don’t know what to make of this; I will have to dig deeper.

Conscientiousness — work ethic, duty, efficiency, discipline and orderliness –

I estimate that Hitler would have scored off the charts in conscientiousness. Hitler managed to assemble a military that was so efficient; it caught its opposition off guard on several occasions. In terms of orderliness, there’s an interesting correlation between this sub-domain and sensitivity to disgust. When he came to power, Hitler’s order was to run mass exterminations across Berlin. He had factories, hospitals and schools cleansed so they were clear of bugs and rodents. The chemicals the Nazi’s used during this extermination across Berlin were the same chemicals they used in the concentration camps to kill the Jewish people. Dr. Jordan Peterson mentions that there is a high correlation between infectious disease and authoritarianism. As the risk for disease spreads within a community, the likelihood of authoritarian measures goes up. The Nazi’s were as authoritarian as they come. Hitler was disgusted by the Jewish people; he viewed the Jewish population as the infectious bacteria that infected society, and so he set out to “ethnically cleanse” the nation of Germany.

Extraversion — social, outgoing, gregariousness –

No doubt, Hitler would have been exceptionally high. The sub-domains of extraversion are — assertiveness and enthusiasm. Hitler would have scored off the charts in both sub-domains. He was able to sway masses of people, and he did this with his charm and charisma. He was extraordinarily gregarious and influential. Hitler was also extremely enthusiastic about what he was doing. He was full-pot committed to his cause; he was out to wreak as much havoc as humanly possible. Fundamentally, Hitler wanted the world to burn, and he was willing to take drastic action to achieve this. Hitler committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule, and then he shot himself in the head. At the height of his powers, Hitler wanted total domination. During the downfall that followed, Hitler wanted total destruction. He knew he was going down, but he was going to make sure he brought down with him as many as he possibly could.

Agreeableness — compassionate, altruistic, polite, warm-hearted –

Hitler would have been extremely low in agreeableness. He showed zero compassion towards his victims. Hitler didn’t care for the people around him. Hitler was so disagreeable that his behaviour was considered psychopathic and sociopathic. His lack of humanity suggests that his levels of disagreeableness were off the charts.

Neuroticism — emotional instability, volatility, fear and sadness –

Hitler would have been extremely high in neuroticism. Given his traumatic past and his supposed diagnosis of schizophrenia, Hitler would have been highly paranoid and highly volatile. Reports suggest that Hitler often used methamphetamine, which would have only exacerbated these high levels of neuroticism and paranoia. Being high in volatility, I believe Hitler would have gone from 0–100 at speeds faster than you could imagine. It’s clear that Hitler was psychotic to some point but also depressed, fearful, bitter and resentful. People who are high in neuroticism and high in conscientiousness tend to use their conscientiousness to bring order to their internal chaos. Hitler did this in the worst possible way you can imagine. There is a video of Hitler watching 1936 Olympics high on dexamphetamine. He is rocking back and forth, jittery and wired on pharmaceutical-grade stimulants. These drugs would have exacerbated Hitler’s neurotic proclivities of violent mood swings and bursts of outrage.

So, this is my breakdown. I love the area of personality, and I am interested in outliers. Hitler is an outlier, and no one can know to what extent he possessed the traits I outlined above. These are my informed guesses. Feel free to drop your 2 cents in the comments below.