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ADHD & Trump’s Behavior: Positive Illusory Bias
A.B.O.U.T. Behavior #9 : Positive Illusory Bias
For one year, my weekly blog will address recent utterances or actions of Mr. Trump that highlight his severe, under-treated, hyperactive, adult ADHD. I do not intend to comment on his politics or policies, except as directly shaped by ADHD. My observations and analyses do not imply that all people with ADH behave like Mr. Trump, not that ADHD is Mr. Trump’s only mental health issue.
Last week, after Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin lost his re-election bid, Mr. Trump tweeted: “The increase in Governors race was at least 15 points, and maybe 20!” Polls had indicated a very close race, and it ended in a virtual tie. Are the president’s claims hyperbole? bombast? narcissism? or Positive Illusory Bias? You decide!….Um, what’s Positive Illusory Bias?
Children tend to exaggerate their own abilities, but numerous studies have found that those with ADHD overestimate their competence to a greater than normal extent. Children with ADHD overvalue their capabilities whether we assess performance through objective measures or by parent or teacher ratings. These children boost the assessment of both their academic and social performances, and augment most in those areas where they display the greatest impairment from ADHD. So, as a group, children with ADHD hold enhanced (positive)…
