From the Columbus Dispatch:

“When you ask the question, ‘Why do they do this?’ it’s more a question of why don’t they stop themselves,” said Jon A. Krosnick, associate director of the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. “I think it has to be a sense of invulnerability.”

Sensational sex scandals involving politicians over the years have prompted experts in psychology and politics to study whether there are common traits among those who engage in risky behavior. Turns out, there are.

“Politicians tend to be higher in the need for power or dominance, are more prone to social desirability pressures, for example to present positive images of themselves, and are more self-confident,” said Kathleen McGray, an expert in political psychology at Ohio State University.

“The higher self-confidence may account for engaging in stupid behavior when they have so much to lose, because they are confident they will get away with it. Dann still seems confident he will survive all of this.”

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