Personality Profile of Ted Cruz

The Personality Profile of 2016 Republican Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz

September 6, 2015

A psychological analysis of Texas senator Ted Cruz — a contender for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election — by Atarah Pinder and Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D., at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics, revealed that Cruz’s primary personality pattern is Dominant / forceful, with secondary Ambitious / confident and Dauntless / Adventurous features and less prominent Outgoing / congenial and Contentious / resolute tendencies. In summary, Cruz’s personality composite can be characterized as a risk-taking, confident controller.

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Summary of the major findings of the study:

Ted Cruz: Will the “Wacko Bird” Soar Like an Eagle? (Atarah Pinder, St. Cloud Times, Sep. 6, 2015) — Many people dislike Texas Sen. Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz — including some of his Republican colleagues. In fact, 2008 Republican nominee Sen. John McCain has gone so far as to call Cruz a “wacko bird.” Presidential hopeful Cruz embraces the label and wears it as a badge of honor. But the question remains: How high can this “wacko bird” fly in the 2016 Republican primary? … Full report

Note: Personal Electability Index (political impact) score

Ted Cruz scores moderately high on the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria-based Personal Electability Index, which has accurately predicted the outcome of every presidential election since 1996.

Following are the PEI calculations for Ted Cruz:

Ted Cruz: PEI = 25


Scale:	1A	1B	2	3	4	5A	5B	6	7	8
Score:	13	6	8	4	0	0	4	2	0	0

Scale: 1A = 13; 2 = 8; 3 = 4; 6 = 2; 8 = 0

[Extraversion (scale 3) = 4] + [Narcissism (scale 2) = 8] + [Dominance (scale 1A) = 13] – [Introversion (scale 8) = 0] – [Conscientiousness (scale 6) = (2 – 2) = 0] = 25 – 0 = 25

Time wonders: Is Cruz ‘likable enough?’ (April 7, 2016) — TIME magazine’s Michael Scherer joins Morning Joe to discuss its new cover on Ted Cruz’s campaign and his public persona. (Duration 7:23)

Full story: Can America Learn to Love Ted Cruz? (TIME, April 7, 2016)

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Political Armageddon: Ted Cruz Braces for Final Battle on Day of Judgment in Indiana Primary (May 2, 2016)

According to a poll by the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics on Friday, April 29, 2016, Ted Cruz leads Donald Trump 45 percent to 29 percent among registered voters. (Redstate.com)

Projecting the Winner of the 2016 Presidential Election: The Personal Electability Index (Feb. 29, 2016)

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Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Comparative Psychological Profiles of the GOP Field (Aug. 6, 2015)

Republican Presidential Candidate Profiles, Polling, and Debates (May 31, 2015)

Republican presidential contenders (from left to right and top to bottom) Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Rick Santorum (Photo credits: Gage Skidmore, officeholder official portraits / Wikipedia)