The dispositional explanation

• Irwin and Cressey’s (1962) Importation Model suggests that prisoner’s social pasts and personal traits (i.e: alcohol or drug addiction and gang membership, low education levels) affect the way they behave in prison. They import their behaviour from the outside world into the prison.
• The importation model claims prisoners are not blank slates and draw on their violent experiences within an environment where toughness and physical exploitation are valued survival skills.
• Irwin and Cressey broke down prison life into three sub-cultures:

  • The criminal sub-culture
  • The convict sub-culture
  • The conventional/straight sub-culture
• The criminal sub-culture advocated a code of honour among fellow inmates such as not telling on inmates when misdemeanours are committed against one another. These rules would be adhered to by “hardened criminals” who were repeat offenders. 
• The convict sub-culture focused on the position within the hierarchy and power. Aggression and the need to exercise power over other convicts is seen as necessary and this group is likely to be the most aggressive often coming from gang culture already.
• The conventional/straight sub-culture were members who were new to prison and likely one-time offenders. They avoid the other two sub-cultures and tend not to be aggressive usually getting along with prison guards. Prisoners may also be predisposed to aggression because of genetics, testosterone, serotonin levels and learned history of dealing with problems violently.