Sheldon Kennon M, Krieger Lawrence S
University of Missouri-Columbia, USA.
Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2007 Jun;33(6):883-97. doi: 10.1177/0146167207301014. Epub 2007 May 4.
Longitudinal studies suggest that law school has a corrosive effect on the well-being, values, and motivation of students, ostensibly because of its problematic institutional culture. In a 3-year study of two different law schools, the authors applied self-determination theory's (SDT) dynamic process model of thriving to explain such findings. Students at both schools declined in psychological need satisfaction and well-being over the 3 years. However, student reports of greater perceived autonomy support by faculty predicted less radical declines in need satisfaction, which in turn predicted better well-being in the 3rd year and also a higher grade point average, better bar exam results, and more self-determined motivation for the first job after graduation. Institution-level analyses showed that although students at both schools suffered, one school was perceived as more controlling than the other, predicting greater difficulties for its students. Implications for SDT and for legal education are discussed.
纵向研究表明，法学院对学生的幸福感、价值观和动机具有侵蚀作用，表面上是因为其存在问题的制度文化。在一项对两所不同法学院进行的为期3年的研究中，作者运用自我决定理论（SDT）的蓬勃发展动态过程模型来解释此类研究结果。在这3年里，两所学校的学生在心理需求满足感和幸福感方面都有所下降。然而，学生报告称，教师给予他们更多的自主支持，这预示着需求满足感的下降幅度会较小，而这反过来又预示着在第三年时幸福感会更高，平均绩点更高，律师资格考试成绩更好，以及毕业后第一份工作的自我决定动机更强。机构层面的分析表明，尽管两所学校的学生都遭遇了困境，但其中一所学校被认为比另一所学校更具控制性，这预示着该校学生将面临更大的困难。文中还讨论了自我决定理论以及对法律教育的启示。
