So far in my experience they do settle down, most not all. They are individuals, in my experience the cloth trick seems to have worked in 4 or 5 cases I have direct experience with the smell associated with safety and security is then associated with an individual, simple conditioning. Pythons have a very good sense of smell with the Jacobson's organ. Ball pythons as a a group are usually passive. I have also encountered a aggressive one that with 2 years of careful handling and care still if startled or disturbed will strike.
From a science stand point I don't think there has been any studies at all. The best you can do is to keep the climate correct and go slow. Try the tee shirt thing or not it can't hurt. Go slow they are easily startled and show tendencies to imprinting. Every snake keeper is going against the grain unlike dogs, snakes are not social creatures and will never accept you as any part of a social structure they simply don't have one. The best you can hope for is to have a snake understand that you are not a a predator.
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