Dane M. Smith

Publication Date

1980

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Beaudry, James A.

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Sociology

LCSH

Law students--Attitudes

Abstract

The influence of the socialization processes of law school is examined using questionnaire data gathered from a hierarchic, cross-sectional sample of 102 law students currently enrolled at a small, midwestern law school. It is hypothesized that a negative (inverse) relationship exists between the amount of time one has spent in a legal educational setting and the degree to which one has idealistic attitudes toward the law. The student's educational standing, amount of interaction with faculty members, fellow law students, and practicing attorneys, especially from within one's own family, are proposed as possible explanatory variables in understanding the developmental process leading to decreased idealistic attitudes toward the law. Data are provided which will shed some light on the proposed hypothesis, as well as on the "theory" that a complex social network of variables, centering around interaction within a legal setting, and the consequential changes in one's self- concept, has a significant impact on one's attitudes toward the law.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references.

Extent

v, 75 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

Download

Share

COinS