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Monday, 13 July 2015

July 12 100 BC Gaius Julius Caesar, Roman general and statesman.

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences
Volume 140, 22 August 2014, Pages 212–220
2nd World Conference on Psychology and Sociology, PSYSOC 2013, 27-29 November 2013, Brussels, Belgium
Open Access

Great Reformers: Psychological Analysis of their Personality Justinian, Julius Caesar and Shi Huangdi ☆


doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.04.412
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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the personality characteristics of some emperors who made consistent contributions that changed history: Justinian, Julius Caesar, and Shi Huangdi. These historical figures share one specific feature: although members of traditional, conservative societies, they proposed and achieved political projects that caused profound changes of socio-political frameworks. We seek to identify psychological elements that enabled them to think and to act in an atypical manner for their respective cultural contexts. The theoretical background reflects the cross-disciplinary perspective: history and personality psychology. We analyzed historical resources, exploring the main decisions in social and personal contexts, purposes in diplomatic and military policies, attitudes towards collaborators and enemies. The commonalities in their psychology converged towards self-confidence, self-determination, and openness to experience, conscientiousness, intolerance, perfectionism, and autocratic style. The most important individual traits are: social intelligence and vainglory in the case of Julius Caesar; endurance, conscientiousness, hardwork, cruelty and fear of complots (paranoid script) – Justinian the Great; duplicity and obsessive fear of death – Shi Huangdi.

Keywords

  • Reformers;
  • Personality;
  • Justinian;
  • Julius Caesar;
  • Qin Shi Huang DI
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☆
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of PSYSOC 2013.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +040-722-000-17.
Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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