The Myer-Megargee Inmate Typology

• Author: Marjorie J. Muzyczka,James G. Simmons,William Drew Gouvier,Dennis L. Johnson
• Date: 01 March 1981
• DOI: 10.1177/009385488100800104
• Published date: 01 March 1981
• Subject Matter: Articles

THE MYER-MEGARGEE
INMATE TYPOLOGY
Dynamic or Unstable?
JAMES G. SIMMONS
DENNIS L. JOHNSON
WILLIAM DREW
GOUVIER
MARJORIE J. MUZYCZKA
Federal Correctional Institution
Memphis, Tennessee
The Megargee and Dorhout (1977) classificatory rules were applied to 181 MMPI
profiles
from inmates at a Level 4 Federal Correctional Institution, in Memphis, Tennessee.
Unambiguous classification was easily obtained for 92% of these inmates. The dispersion
of these inmates among the 10 Megargee types was comparable to that previously reported
at other levels of the Federal Prison System. Fifty of these inmates were retested (mean
test-retest interval = 10.16 months) and reclassified. Only 14 of these 50 inmates retained
their original type designation upon retesting. Thus, although the Megargee and Dorhout
(1977) typology may be easily applied to inmate MMPI profiles in a Federal Level 4
facility, the rather marked instability of this system suggests that considerable caution
should be exercised if it is to be used in the classification process.
~ /~egargee and Bohn (1979) have recently summarized the
rabidly expanding literature on the MMPI-based, Myer-
Megargee (1977) inmate typology. The focus of the research on
this classification system has been on its derivation, validation,
and cross-validation (Megargee, 1977; Megargee & Bohn, 1979;
Edinger, 1979). Little interest has been shown in the stability of
Authors’ Note: The opinions expressed herein are the authors’ and do not
necessarily reflect official policies of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Requests
for reprints should be sent to Dr. Dennis L. Johnson, Chief Psychologist, Psy-
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the 10 types except as an area for further research (Megargee &
Bohn, 1979: 261). It is the position of the present authors that
the stability of this typology should have been a major concern
from the beginning.
That is, a classification system which allows for no change
from test to retest will be insensitive to the actual changes which
do occur during the...