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Several of Jones’s childhood playmates report
memories of his strange early behaviors (Guinn,
2017). Despite agnostic or atheist parents, Jones
developed a deep fascination with religious ideology,
including performing unnerving funeral services for
animals. He may have even killed animals. Children
who were reluctant or refused to comply with Jones’s
demands were physically punished or verbally berated,
foreshadowing his later authoritarian leadership style
and general lack of behavioral control when confronted.
He also frequently engaged in petty theft from the local
convenience store as a child (Guinn, 2017).
Years later, Jones’s temperament escalated to the point
of drugging unwitting congregants if they spoke out
against him—essentially using them as examples to
demonstrate his “powers” (Scheeres, 2011). He also
manipulated people into sexual relationships, and in at
least one case, drugged a woman who refused to have
sex with him (Guinn, 2017). Eventually, he coordinated
the assassination of Leo Ryan and others, as well as the
deaths of over 900 other people, a tragic display of his
criminal versatility.
When we described the list of antisocial traits in the
Hare model to Stephan Jones and asked him if his
father displayed any of them, he responded:
Lifestyle Traits
Hare’s second cluster is lifestyle traits, including
stimulation seeking, impulsiveness, irresponsibility,
parasitic orientation, and a lack of realistic goals
(Hare &Neumann, 2008). Noted for his eccentricity
and impetuousness from early on in his life until the
I’d say Dad had little regard for the law and he
did plenty of things that were criminal. There
was no juvenile delinquency that I am aware
of. From what I’ve heard and read, Dad was
curious, precocious, eccentric, and dramatic
in his childhood, but I am not sure I would
characterize him as having had “behavioral
problems.” His drug abuse and rages (which
were often resulting from the drug abuse) are
examples of poor behavior control, though I
think he acted in a calculated manner, for the
most part, until the last year or two of his life.
final days of Jonestown, descriptions and analyses
of Jim Jones indicate that he exhibited each of the
characteristics listed. He initially established the Peoples
Temple in 1960 to help the poor, elderly, and targets of
segregation his charismatic nature and fiery sermons
attracted hundreds, then thousands of followers based
on lofty promises of social justice (Guinn, 2017).
Despite his success, he impulsively moved to Ukiah,
California, in response to a “vision of nuclear war and
worldwide devastation” in 1961 (Layton, 1998, p. 34).
However, the choice of location was based on an article
Jones read in Esquire magazine (Guinn, 2017).
Jones often complained about having to take pain
medications during his sermons due to miscellaneous
ailments and injuries however, he was never
diagnosed with any specific condition requiring
their use (Scheeres, 2011). Through donations to the
Peoples Temple, Jones created a network of secret
bank accounts under false names totaling perhaps $10
million, including one personal account in his name
with an initial deposit of $1.5 million (Lindsey, 1978).
In Guyana, most people lived in sweltering heat and
mass housing, while Jones enjoyed a private home with
electricity, a refrigerator, and extra food (Guinn, 2017).
When Ryan visited, and some Jonestown members
requested leaving with him, Jones’s anger and feelings
of betrayal apparently led to his impulsive decision to
kill everyone.
Stephan Jones’s response to the question of whether
his father displayed the lifestyle traits listed in Hare’s
psychopathy model was very brief. While our email
provided all five criteria, he focused only on the final
item: “Yep. Dad did not lack realistic goals, but he had
many unrealistic ones.”
Interpersonal Traits
The third cluster of traits in Hare’s model comprises
narcissism and manipulation (Hare &Neumann,
2008). With abundant examples of chronic deceit,
grandiosity, and superficiality throughout his life,
Jones clearly demonstrated each of these criteria. Jones
recruited new members through careful manipulation,
often pretending to align with their personal interests
and making them feel special (Guinn, 2017). He also
resorted to the tricks of the revivalist movement,

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Elizabeth Franken and Wind Goodfriend |Jim Jones
including false “faith healings” of ailments like
paralysis and blindness, seemingly chosen to mimic
Biblical stories (Scheeres, 2011). For both tactics,
Jones used undercover observation and established
church members as spies and audience plants,
designed to elevate his messianic status. During several
of Jones’s hours-long services, he proclaimed he was
the reincarnation of Vladimir Lenin, Jesus, and God
himself—despite privately admitting to his family that
he was an atheist (Guinn, 2017).
When we asked Stephan Jones if the list of interpersonal
traits listed in Table 1 represented his father, he wrote:
Affective Traits
Finally, affective traits are tied to emotions and refer to
an appearance of lacking remorse, guilt, and empathy
for others (Hare &Neumann, 2008 Marsh, 2013).
Again, based on archival records, Jones’s behaviors
appear to fit: His emotional range seems limited, with
either artificial displays of empathy or none, and little
acceptance of responsibility for his actions. When
anyone expressed doubts about Jones or wished to
leave, they were threatened with death (Layton, 1998).
Two teenagers who tried to escape Jonestown were
caught. Jones promptly ordered them to be choked and
beaten he stood by and, after “watching the display
impassively for a few minutes,” called off the attack
(Scheeres, 2011, p. 112).
For years, Jones engaged in a desperate custody battle
over a child he likely fathered out of wedlock with one
of his congregants when he feared losing the child, he
On the surface I think it does, but I believe the
answer to this is more complex than yes or no.
For example, he certainly did show patterns of
manipulation and grandiose self-worth, but I
recall his charm to oftentimes be genuine, from
a deeper place rather than solely based on how
it appeared. His lying usually had a purpose,
so I am not sure it would fit the definition of
“pathological lying.” It was not compulsive in
nature, but calculating. As I saw it, what appeared
as grandiose self-worth was compensation for
profound insecurity that required at least the
appearance of constant adulation to assuage.
kidnapped the boy to Guyana (Guinn, 2017). While this
may at first seem like a display of love for his children,
Jones ordered all his children to die with everyone
else after Leo Ryan’s assassination occurred. Before
that night, life in Guyana was miserable. Jonestown
members were forced to listen to raving speeches
broadcast over speakers all night, put on scant food
rations, deprived of needed medications, and required
to do manual labor in the jungle for hours every day
(Guinn, 2017). Jones subjected them to loyalty tests
and false alarms in which they were told they were
being invaded, leading to constant fear, emotional
fluctuations, and sleep deprivation (Scheeres, 2011).
His ultimate display of affective psychopathy is his
decision to ask everyone in Jonestown to die in
November 1978. While many people agreed and even
rejoiced in this outcome, compliance of others was
ensured by killing the children first, to destroy their
parents’ will to survive (Layton, 1998). Jones himself
avoided the potentially painful death associated with
drinking cyanide by dying from a gunshot wound to
the head (Guinn, 2017).
After describing these criteria to Stephan Jones, we
asked if he believed they represented his father’s
personality. He responded:
Conclusion
Based on the archival information available to us
through biographies and memoirs and through our
brief interview with Stephan Jones, we believe that Jim
Jones would receive a relatively high rating on Hare’s
psychopathy checklist. However, this conclusion must
The answer to this is more nuanced. He definitely
failed to accept responsibility for his actions,
but I think he desperately buried his guilt
and/or remorse by abusing drugs and seeking
adulation/approval. My perception was that he
displayed genuine emotion at times, and other
times he feigned it. I recall being able to clearly
see the difference. There were also times that he
tapped into something very real and genuine to
manipulate, oftentimes unconsciously. I think
this was how he gained affirmation, “love,” and
all that humans seek out from interpersonal
relationships, ever since his childhood when
he spent much of his time fending for himself.