Using the Megargee MMPI-based classification system with the MMPI-2s of female prison inmates.

This study extends Megargee's Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-based classification system to female offenders. MMPI-2s of 400 women in state and federal prisons were rescored and reconfigured to estimate their original MMPI profiles. Their MMPIs and MMPI-2s were classified according to the rules devised for the original MMPI. Next, the MMPI-2s were reclassified using new rules for classifying the MMPI-2s of male offenders. Neither approach led to satisfactory agreement between MMPI and MMPI-2. A major problem was that Scale 5 was more prominent in the women's MMPI-2 profiles than on their MMPIs. Using revised rules for classifying the original MMPIs and the MMPI-2s of female offenders, 386 of the 400 women (97%) could be classified on both versions of the MMPI, of whom 336 (87%) were classified identically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment research in correctional settings: Methodological issues and practical problems.

With prison populations at record levels, classification and programming based on individual assessments are needed to allocate resources efficiently. However, there is a dearth of assessment research in correctional settings, partly because few psychologists are prepared for the special challenges posed by correctional research. This article discusses the methodological and practical problems that are especially common in or unique to assessment research in correctional settings, especially in prisons. It examines the distinctive culture of correctional institutions and the special concerns of their staffs; reviews considerations peculiar to planning prison-based studies; describes difficulties that may be encountered in obtaining approval by correctional institutions, funding agencies, and human subject review boards; and presents problems that may be encountered in collecting the data and in analyzing and interpreting the results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation of response length to the Holtzman Inkblot Technique.

2 studies are presented which explore the relationship between the mean number of words an S uses in his responses to inkblots and the score pattern he obtains. Significant relations between Response Length (RL) and Holtzman Inkblot Technique scores are demonstrated in samples of juvenile delinquents and college students. 1 experiment is described which indicates that RL is 1 of the factors which determines Movement scores. The role of RL as a variable mediating some of the observed relations between personality and situational variables and inkblot scores is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of leadership in a simulated industrial task.

Ss high and low in dominance were selected with the CPI Dominance (Do) scale and confronted with a simulated industrial task which could be solved best by 1 person assuming a leader role and the other following his instructions. When the instructions emphasized the task, the High Do Ss did not assume the leader role significantly more often than the Low Do Ss. When leadership was emphasized, however, the High Do Ss assumed the leader role in 90% of the pairs. It is concluded that the CPI Do scale has predictive validity when leadership is made salient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation between barrier scores and aggressive behavior.

A study by Fisher and Cleveland (1958) indicated that high barrier Ss express anger outwardly, yet other investigations have indicated low barrier Ss are more impulsive and aggressive. A study of barrier scores in a sample of 75 juvenile delinquents indicated that the delinquents had barrier scores significantly lower than nondelinquent adolescents; moreover the more seriously delinquent Ss had barrier scores significantly lower than the less seriously delinquent Ss. Correlational data also indicated some association between low barrier scores and aggressiveness. Adaptiveness of aggression in various situations and on the interpretation of the barrier score as an index of ego identity as opposed to ego diffusion are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of sex roles on the manifestation of leadership.

Investigated situational factors influencing the manifestation of dominance (Do) by pairing 80 undergraduates high and low on the CPI Do scale and having them interact in tasks in which 1 had to lead and the other follow. In experiments using a masculine industrial task and a sexually neutral clerical task, the following S pairs were studied: high and low Do men (Group 1), high Do men and low Do women (Group 2), high Do women and low Do men (Group 3), high and low Do women (Group 4). Assumption of leadership by the high Do women in Group 3 was significantly lower in both studies. This was attributed to sex role conflict inhibiting the manifestation of Do. Analyses of the decision-making process support this interpretation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting prison adjustment with structured personality inventories.

Investigated the degree to which individual scales and multivariate combinations of scales on the MMPI and the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) could predict criteria of adjustment in prison. Ss were 1,313 male inmates (mean age 22.2 yrs) at a federal correctional institution who were admitted over a 2-yr period. Two-thirds of the sample was used as a derivation sample and one-third was used for cross-validation. Ss completed the scales soon after incarceration. Results support the construct validity of several MMPI and CPI scales, but the absolute magnitude of the associations was low. Combinations of MMPI and CPI scales produced higher multiple correlations but generally did not hold up on cross-validation. It is concluded that neither the MMPI or CPI scales or weighted linear combinations thereof provided enough accuracy to be used alone for individual actuarial prediction. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of familial and social factors to socialization in middle-class college students.

Reviews sampling problems encountered in the studies of factors associated with poor socialization using adjudicated delinquents and nondelinquents. To determine the familial and social factors associated with differences in socialization in a nondelinquent population, the CPI Socialization (So) scale and a personal history questionnaire were administered to 208 female and 280 male college students. Ss scoring low on the So scale revealed the same basic pattern of associations usually encountered in studies of delinquents, indicating that the previous studies were not simple artifacts of the judicial process. Differences between high and low So scale scorers and male and female delinquents are discussed. (26 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seven MMPI alcohol and drug abuse scales: An empirical investigation of their interrelationships, convergent and discriminant validity, and degree of racial bias.

Investigated the interrelationships, convergent and discriminant validity, and magnitude of racial differences on 5 MMPI alcohol scales and 2 drug scales with a sample of 1,048 inmates (mean age 22.3 yrs) who were heavy and moderate alcohol users, heavy and moderate drug users, and nonpsychoactive substance users. Five scales showed some degree of convergent or discriminant validity. Racial differences were observed on 5 scales, with Blacks scoring lower on all these scales except one. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)