The Psychopathology of Power

It has been proposed that some persons in positions of leadership (whether in business, political, or other fields) experience an acquired personality change, termed “Hubris Syndrome” (HS), in which lack of realism leads to incorrect decision-making along with excessive self-regard.1,2 A key aspect of these personality features, as described by Owen, is that they are acquired; they were not present before attaining a powerful position of leadership. Hence, Owen’s view is that HS represents an acquired personality change. Whether it is sufficiently common and distinguishable from other psychiatric conditions to be seen as an independent illness or “disorder” is a separate question from whether this phenomenon occurs at all, and what its etiological, precipitating, and modulating factors are.