Values, ethical positions and attitudes of candidates for a lawyer career
Migone de Faletty, R.C.; Moreno, J.E.
Acta Psiquiatrica y Psicologica de America Latina 31(1): 43-52
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0001-6896 PMID: 4050493 Document Number: 243154
This work intends to bring out light regarding values, ethical positions and attitudes of future Law students. We consider that it may be important to know these aspects in relation to the vocational decision of students in order to know whether values are really a determinant factor in career decision or not. The present study was produced using the following instruments: Study of Values (Allport-Vernon and Lindzey); Survey of Interpersonal Values (L. Gordon); Ethical Position Questionnaire (J. E. Moreno). Several groups of students were used as samples: neophytes to Law School in the University of Buenos Aires, and neophytes to the careers of Law, Medicine, Psychology and Publicity in a Catholic University. We found that in the latter University the predominant value is the religious, and secondly the social value. Instead in the University of Buenos Aires the most important value is the social and secondly the political value. The EPQ shows that neophytes to Law School may be considered absolutists in Forsyth's scale. These students also showed in Gordon's survey high Benevolence and Conformity in comparison with the other samples of students. Regarding attitudes towards the University's objectives, we found that Law students consider important the ethical education and the enhancement of the national culture more than universal culture. This work tends to confirm that Law neophytes as a group have clear differences from other groups of neophytes regarding attitudes to interpersonal bonds, and also different attitudes toward the university's objectives.