The dispositional explanation

• Kane and Janus (1981) found the learned history of offenders was related to the number of violent offences they committed. Prisoners with lower levels of education, more serious crimes and a greater period of unemployment were more likely to be aggressive when inside prison. This shows clear support for the importation model and how an offenders previous learning and experience can be imported into the prison setting.
• The dispositional explanation and importation model have received research support from Mears et al (2013).

  They measured whether violent behaviour originated from cultural belief systems which inmates imported into prison such as the “code of the street”. Results supported this hypothesis as inmates who lacked family support and were involved in gangs prior to imprisonment were found to be more likely to engage in inmate violence inside prison.
• However critics have argued that this is because violent gang members tend to be isolated from the general prison population restricting their opportunities for violence. This means they may still be pre-disposed to prison violence but merely their chances to exhibit it are restricted. This is supported by Fischer (2001) who found that identifying and isolating gang members within a special unit reduced rates of serious assaults by up to 50% and thus supports the importation model.