Next president may be narcissist

NEWARK, Ohio, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- If a group is without a leader, a narcissist -- self-centered, exaggerated talents, lacking in empathy -- will emerge to take charge, a U.S. researcher says.

Amy Brunell of Ohio State University at Newark said narcissists are more likely to become leaders, but once in power, they don't perform better.

"It's not surprising that narcissists become leaders -- they like power, are egotistical, and they are charming and extroverted," Brunell said in a statement. "But they don't necessarily make better leaders."

Her findings, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, found three studies all had similar results -- those who scored higher on one dimension of narcissism -- the desire for power -- were more likely to say they wanted to lead the group, were more likely to say they lead group discussions and were more likely to be viewed as leaders by others.

Narcissism should not be confused with high self-esteem, Brunell said.

"Narcissists have an inflated view of their talents and abilities and are all about themselves," Brunell said. "They don't care as much about others."

Brunell noted many have observed that it takes a narcissistic person to run for U.S. president and she said she would be surprised if any of the candidates who have run weren't higher than average in narcissism.