期刊名称：JPUR : Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research
印刷版ISSN：2158-4044
电子版ISSN：2158-4052
出版年度：2012
卷号：2
出版社：Purdue University
摘要：When a professor makes a recommendation concerning students' study behaviors, does it have an effect. Advice given by professors is a type of injunctive norm. Injunctive norms have effects on many domains, but little attention has been paid to their effects in academia. If professors use controlling language when establishing an injunctive norm ("You must study"), do students react differently than if noncontrolling language ("I recommend that you study") is utilized. To address these research questions, we conducted an experiment with 135 undergraduate Introduction to Psychology students¡ªall of whom reported studying below the recommended 6 to 9 hours per week for the course. After providing informed consent, participants viewed a recommendation from the Psychology Department faculty to increase their study time using either controlling or noncontrolling language. The students' worry about academic progress, anger toward professors, and subsequent motivation to study more in the future were then measured using questionnaires. Results indicated that when professors use controlling language, students' motivation to study in the future increased slightly. However, the use of controlling language was also related to increased academic anxiety and resentment toward professors, and these feelings were negatively related to students' motivation to study. Thus, there appears to be a dual pathway through which students may interpret and react to professors' advice. Being firm and using controlling language seems to have a weak encouraging effect on study behavior, but this positive effect is largely overwhelmed by the negative effects of anxiety and anger this approach can produce
