Barack Obama

Barack Obama’s Personality Profile

November 2, 2008

2010-07_Immelman-Suedfeld (cropped)
Presenter Aubrey Immelman and discussant Peter Suedfeld
(Photo: Irina Rogozar-Kolpakova)

The Political Personality of U.S. President Barack Obama. Paper presented at the 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, San Francisco, July 7–10, 2010. Abstract and link for full-text (19 pages; PDF) download at Digital Commons: https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/psychology_pubs/25/

Presidential Decision Making: Comparing the Personality Profiles of Barack Obama and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Paper presented at the 35th Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, Chicago, July 6–9, 2012. Abstract and link for full-text (36 pages; PDF) download at Digital Commons: https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/psychology_pubs/128/



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Sen. Barack Obama: Is he tough enough? (Aubrey Immelman, St. Cloud Times, Nov. 1, 2008) — Among the many leaders I have studied – presidential candidates as well as foreign adversaries as a consultant to the U.S. military – Barack Obama is something of a rarity. … Read more


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Barack Obama’s Leadership Style


Topical reports

The secret to Obama’s success: He’s boring? (Lauren Dzubow, O, The Oprah Magazine, pp. 113-114, Apr. 2009) — Aubrey Immelman, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University in Minnesota, says the variable that most distinguishes Obama from the two previous presidents is conscientiousness – one of the “Big Five” personality factors in standard psychology (everyone has all five, in differing degrees; the others are openness to experience, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism). … Full report

In his slow decision-making, Obama goes with head, not gut (Joel Achenbach, Washington Post, Nov. 25, 2009) — President George W. Bush once boasted, “I’m not a textbook player, I’m a gut player.” The new tenant of the Oval Office takes a strikingly different approach. President Obama is almost defiantly deliberative, methodical and measured, even when critics accuse him of dithering. When describing his executive style, he goes into Spock mode, saying, “You’ve got to make decisions based on information and not emotions.” … Full report