Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

4-26-2018

Disciplines

Psychology

Advisor

Abraham Immelman, Psychology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to construct a personality profile as a basis for conducting a threat assessment of Kim Jong-un, supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The study was conducted from the conceptual perspective of Theodore Millon, as adapted by Aubrey Immelman for at-a-distance assessment of personality in politics. Psychodiagnostically relevant data regarding Kim were collected from a multitude of open-source media reports and expert analyses. These data were then compiled, categorized, and coded using Immelman’s Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications largely congruent with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The personality patterns yielded by the MIDC were analyzed in accordance with interpretive guidelines in the MIDC manual. Kim’s primary personality patterns were found to be Dominant/controlling and Outgoing/gregarious. Secondary personality patterns were found to be Ambitious/confident, Dauntless/adventurous, and Accommodating/cooperative. Based on his primary Outgoing-Dominant personality composite, Kim was classified as a high-dominance extravert. The psychological profile provides a basis for inferring the influence of Kim’s personality on DPRK regime behavior and the threat posed by North Korea with respect to U.S. national security.

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