Dispositional

• Importation model


  Irwin and Cressey proposed that prisoner aggression stems from an individual’s personality traits and past experiences, rather than the prison environment itself. Prisoners who were aggressive before are more likely to display violent behavior while imprisoned. Factors such as upbringing, life experiences influence these tendencies. According to McManimon, prisoners often resort to violence to resolve conflicts, reflecting behaviors learned outside of prison. This model emphasizes that aggression in prison is shaped by personal traits and is used to gain power and status.
• Matt DeLisi et al. (2011) studied juvenile offenders in California institutions, focusing on those with negative backgrounds, such as childhood trauma, anger, substance abuse, and violent behavior. These traits created negative dispositions that the offenders brought into prison. When compared to a control group without these traits, the "negative" inmates were significantly more likely to engage in suicidal behavior, sexual misconduct, and physical aggression. This study supports the idea that pre-existing personal traits influence aggressive behavior in prison.
• Strength - Evidence for the importation model

  Scott Camp and Gerald Gaes (2005) conducted a study on 561 male prisoners who shared similar criminal records and tendencies toward aggression. Half of the group was randomly assigned to low-security prisons in California. while the other half was randomly placed in high-security institutions. After two years, there was no notable difference in the number of prisoners engaging in aggressive misconduct, with both groups having a rate of 33% to 36%.
• Limitation - Deterministic

  The importation model tends to be deterministic, suggesting that prisoners are aggressive due to the ‘negative’ dispositions they bring into prisons and that they have little control over these dispositions. This implies that prison aggression is inevitable and not the fault of the prisoners. However, it can also be argued that prison aggression is a result of prisoners exercising their free will. Cognitive factors also play a role, and thus, prison aggression is not inevitable and is the responsibility of the individual prisoners.