Cautious Optimism in Law Students

Abstract

This study examined whether first-year law students exhibit optimistic bias in their predictions about performance in law school. At four points during the school year, first-year law students predicted what their class rank would be after the first year of law school and following completion of law school. Within the group of full-time students, males exhibited greater optimism in their predictions than females, but females still showed evidence of a cautious optimism in their predictions. Within the group of part-time students, no gender differences were found, but part-time students as a group showed evidence of cautious optimism about class rank. Predictions of class rank showed a surprising degree of consistency over time, with anticipated and actual feedback about performance on exams having no significant effects on predictions. Possible implications and issues in need of further study are discussed.