Journal of Humanistic Psychology 1–19 © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0022167815614955 jhp.sagepub.com Article On the Value Integration of Successfully Reformed Ex-Convicts: A Comparison With Moral Exemplars Jennifer Cole Wright 1 , Heath Hoffmann 1 , and Olivia Coen 1 Abstract The issue of successfully reintegrating ex-prisoners into society is a critical one. To assess the process of successful reintegration, we interviewed five male ex-convicts about their past versus present lives. Their responses were coded for self-oriented (agency) and community-oriented values. We found a shift away from “unmitigated” agency, toward community values from past to present, and also an integration of agency with community similar to that found in moral exemplars. This increase in integration was not found in a demographically matched control group. The transitions exemplified in these ex-convicts’ narratives help define potential paths for successful reintegration into society. Keywords value integration, ex-convicts, moral exemplars, agency, community Since the 1970s, incarceration rates in the United States have steeply increased, leading to a massive overcrowding of our prison systems (Haney, 2001)—from 1980 to 2001, the incarceration rate in the U.S. state and federal 1 College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA Corresponding Author: Jennifer Cole Wright, Department of Psychology, 57 Coming Street, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424, USA. Email: wrightjj1@cofc.edu 614955JHP XX X 10.1177/0022167815614955Journal of Humanistic PsychologyWright et al. research-article 2015 by guest on November 23, 2015 jhp.sagepub.com Downloaded from